USA vs. England in the World Cup, or A blogger divided against himself cannot stand

I'm an American.  While I'm not a “love it or leave it” kind of patriot, I love my country.  It has its problems but it's my home.  My father, on the other hand, was born in England.  He is now as American as any other guy I know, and if you met him you'd have a tough time figuring out that he isn’t originally from here.  (In fact, I'm not sure he's even aware the World Cup is taking place this month.)  I still have family living in England.  And it’s one of my favorite countries to visit.  I’ve always had a special affection for the land of my paternal ancestors.

So I have a dilemma when it comes to the World Cup and the USA vs. England match on June 12.  I want to see Team USA win the game, but I also want to see England do well in the tournament.  They haven't won the Cup since 1966, and I do enjoy seeing long championship droughts come to an end.  I think England has a much better shot at winning the World Cup than most teams, and certainly a better chance that we do.  However, I can't root against my home country and live with myself in the morning.  As Stephen Colbert used to say, “Pick a side!  We're at war!”

I'll cheer for Team USA on Saturday.  But I have to approach the match as if it were an NFL game with my favorite team playing against the quarterback on my fantasy football team.  If Team USA wins, I'll scare the neighbors with my screams of joy.  I'm sure they remember my enthusiasm for Team USA in the Olympic hockey tournament.  But if England takes us down I'm not going to be too disappointed.  Besides, with Algeria and Slovenia in our group, Team USA and England should both advance to the championship round.  Depending on the seeding, I can always hope for a rematch.