This Thanksgiving I would like to point out the things American soccer fans should be thankful for.  So here we go:

1. I'm thankful that America is the land of opportunity that caused so many people to immigrate to the United States and bring the beautiful game with them.

2. I'm thankful for the St. Louis Amatuer Football Association which was the first organized league in the country and laid the grass roots foundation for the sport in the U.S.

3. I'm thankful for FIFA granting the U.S. Football Association full membership on August 15, 1913

4. I'm thankful for the U.S. Open Cup which kept the competitive game alive when no professional leagues existed. 

5. I'm thankful for FIFA organizing the first World Cup in 1930 hosted in Uruguay creating what would become the most popular sporting event in the world.

6. I'm thankful for the 1950 U.S. World Cup team which upset England 1-0.

7. I'm thankful for NCAA soccer and the pioneering coaches who increased the sports popularity in the 1970's and 08's which played a direct role in increasing the talent pool for the U.S national team.

8. I'm thankful for the North American Soccer League which first exposed the U.S. to soccer greats like Pele, Cruyff, and Beckenbauer. 

9. I'm thankful for Paul Caliguri scoring the "goal heard round the world" in a 1-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago clinching the USA's first appearance in the World Cup since 1950. 

10. I'm thankful for the men and women who brough the 1994 World Cup to the United States.

11. I'm thankful for the visions of men like Lamar Hunt and Phil Anschutz who invested heavily in Major League Soccer bringing back the professional game in this country.

12. I'm thankful for Major League Soccer- the simply fact the U.S. even has its own professional league even if it's not the English Premier League, La Liga or Serie A.

13. I'm thankful for the American players who currently practice their trade abroad living what I am sure is a difficult lifestyle to become better players.

14. I'm thankful that ESPN has seen the value of soccer to their programming and their broadcasts of U.S. national team, MLS, UEFA Champions League, World Cup and Euro 2008 matches. 

15. I'm thankful for Fox Soccer Channel and the Fox Football Fone-In show allowing fans to have their voice. 

16. I'm thankful for the new CONCACAF Champions League. 

17. I'm thankful for all the volunteer coaches out there who take the time to coach and develop young players. 

18. I'm thankful for all the referees out there, because without them, the organized game could not exist. 

So that's what THIS American soccer fan is thankful for.

What are YOU thankful for?

I did't get to watch the game because I was at the Houston Dynamo-Toronto FC game, so here is the game report.

If you readers out there could share your thoughts on the match that would be great!

-- U.S. Men's National Team Game Report --

Match-up: USA vs. Argentina
Date: June 8, 2008
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Giants Stadium - East Rutherford, New Jersey
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Attendance: 78,682
Weather: Warm, 85 degrees

Scoring Summary:
          1    2    F
USA  0    0    0
ARG  0    0    0

Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 6-Steve Cherundolo, 22-Oguchi Onyewu (23-Jay DeMerit, 61), 5-Danny Califf, 15-Heath Pearce (7-Eddie Lewis, 78); 4-Michael Bradley (26-Maurice Edu, 46), 25-Pablo Mastroeni; 8-Clint Dempsey (19-Freddy Adu, 61), 10-Landon Donovan (capt.), 17-DaMarcus Beasley (2-Frankie Hejduk, 91+); 9-Eddie Johnson (12-Sacha Kljestan, 74)
Subs not used: 18-Brad Guzan
Head Coach: Bob Bradley

ARG: 1-Roberto Abbondanzieri; 3-Gonzalo Rodriguez, 4-Nicolas Burdisso (2-Martin Demichelis, 46), 6-Gabriel Heinze, 13-Pablo Zabaleta (8-Javier Zanetti, 77); 5-Fernando Gago, 7-Maximiliano Rodriguez (20-Fernando Cavenaghi, 74), 14-Javier Mascherano (capt.); 9-Julio Cruz (19-Lisandro Lopez, 64), 11-Sergio Aguero (15-Ever Banega, 88), 18-Lionel Messi (17-Jose Sosa, 46)
Subs not used: 12-Sergio Romero, 16-Jonas Gutierrez
Head Coach: Alfio Basile

Stats Summary: USA / ARG
Shots: 9 / 10
Shots on goal: 4 / 7
Saves: 7 / 5
Corner Kicks: 7 / 6
Fouls: 19 / 18
Offside: 3 / 2

Misconduct Summary:
ARG - Nicolas Burdisso (caution) 18th minute.
USA - Pablo Maestroeni (caution) 60.
USA - Maurice Edu (caution) 70.
USA - Pablo Maestroeni (caution) 71.
USA - Pablo Maestroeni (sent off) 71.
ARG - Gabriel Heinze (caution) 84.
ARG - Lisandro Lopez (caution) 84.
ARG - Javier Mascherano (caution) 86.
ARG - Javier Mascherano (caution) 86.
ARG - Javier Mascherano (sent off) 86.

Officials:
Referee: Joel Aguilar Chicas (SLV)
1st Asst.: William Torres Mejia (SLV)
2nd Asst: Juan Zumba Galan (SLV)
Fourth Official: Arkadiusz Prus (USA)

Sierra Mist Man of the Match: Tim Howard