Soccer Frenzy; USA's Epic Finish
CUOMO: You know who they're cheering for? Themselves. One of the reasons I have a one on my chest is because America is now one nation with one team when it comes to soccer. It was never just about what happened here in Brazil. Was it? Wasn't it always about U.S. soccer finally winning over American hearts and minds? Because they have, like never before. All across the country, record numbers of viewers. Forty-two percent of people 18 to 29 say they followed the World Cup and the U.S. closely. This is the stuff of new territory for I guess we'll call it football number two in the U.S.? Take a look with George Howell, who was in Chicago, of what was going on all across the country in the love and pursuit of U.S. soccer.</s>GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Soccer watch parties around the country, in Chicago, the headquarters of U.S. soccer.</s>CROWD: USA! USA! HOWELL: They say some 25,000 people packed into Soldier Field to watch the U.S. team take on Belgium. At AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, organizers estimate more than 10,000 soccer fans filled the stands. There were big crowds from Seattle to Washington, D.C., on Pennsylvania Avenue. And in San Francisco as well, where you could hardly find a bar or pub where people weren't glued to the screen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was one of the most exciting games I've seen so far. It was exciting until the end.</s>HOWELL: There was so much excitement, not just about this game against Belgium, but also about the sport of soccer in the</s>U.S. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe!</s>CROWD: I believe!</s>OBAMA: I believe!</s>HOWELL: Even President Obama weighed in with hopes for a win.</s>OBAMA: Go, go, go!</s>HOWELL: But no offense to the president, online people were tweeting, "Tim Howard for president," raving about the 16 saves he made on the field.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again, Tim Howard.</s>HOWELL: Then there was that goal scored by Julian Green, brought back the hope the U.S. might win this one. It made for a moment of celebration in the home of U.S. soccer star Clint Dempsey. But then, minutes later, when the game ended, collective sigh of disappointment. Even after this loss on the field, some say the country actually gained something here.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think every four years we kind of see a huge peak in interest of the sport. A lot of kind of general sports fans come in, a lot of kind of just general people that aren't necessarily sports fans come in and I think a lot of them stick around once they realize how much fun the sport can be.</s>HOWELL: In fact, television ratings for the games have been the best for a non-football event according to ESPN. The game may very well have hooked America on what the rest of the world calls futbol. George Howell, CNN, Chicago.</s>CUOMO: New to the U.S., maybe, but far from new. Well played, George Howell, bringing us the spirit of the country getting behind this team. Let's bring in Lara Baldesarra. She is the anchor of "World Sport" on CNNI. You've been the man of the match for us here at the World Cup. Thank you for helping me down here. I look up to you, and not just because you're standing on top of a car. Now, let me ask you this. The U.S. and soccer, OK, it has been, you know, a slow going romance, but do you believe that this is more than a flash point, this is culture change?</s>LARA BALDESARRA, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR "WORLD SPORTS": Absolutely. Hands down, 100 percent, the numbers show it, the viewing shows it. The way the fans got into this World Cup, that absolutely shows it. And now U.S. soccer has a face. They have Tim Howard, a very heavily bearded face, I might add, but -</s>CUOMO: Handsome. Handsome.</s>BALDESARRA: Oh, sure, handsome. Your word. It's OK, I'll take it. But, yes. No, they have a face and that is who we'll be seen as the face of U.S. soccer for let's hope at least four more years moving forward to the next World Cup. It's actually kind of strange, though, because if you had asked me who could become the face of U.S. soccer ahead of the World Cup, I would have said hands down Clint Dempsey. Landon Donovan is no more. It was Clint Dempsey's time to break through and shine. But he didn't come through in the clutch. It was Tim Howard.</s>CUOMO: Absolutely. That's true. You've got to perform at the end of the day. You know, if you're in sports and you're going to be, you know, or let's say, I don't like the word hero, we use it too much, but if you're going to be a celebrated figure in sport, you've got to perform at the end of the day.</s>BALDESARRA: I'll call -- I like to call him a sports hero.</s>CUOMO: Sports hero?</s>BALDESARRA: Yes.</s>CUOMO: All right. I'll go with that. That's good.</s>BALDESARRA: OK.</s>CUOMO: See, I would have said Tim Howard's a natural. Why? He's got the unique American look. You know, the bravado, the tattoos. But there's this big moral backstop to him as well. He's a big man of faith. He's a family man. All right, so the question then becomes going forward, seeing how he's 35, you know, I mean looks like Hercules, but maybe he doesn't want to keep it going. How does the U.S. get better? Why aren't we in the top five athletically in this sport like we are in every other?</s>BALDESARRA: There's actually a number of youngsters that are up and coming and Jurgen Klinsmann has been very, very good at recruiting all of those youngsters. We saw Julian Green really say hello to the world during this final game. We saw DeAndre Yedlin. But the keeper that was on the bench, who was Tim Howard's number two, that's Brad Guzan. He plays in the premier league, much like Tim Howard, so he could become the next goalkeeper in the next World Cup.</s>CUOMO: And now, hopefully, with the enthusiasm, you have all these kids like happened at my house. I just got off the phone with my son Mario, late for camp as usual, and he was saying that after the match they went out, he was kicking the ball, his brazuka (ph) that we brought him from down here.</s>BALDESARRA: Yes.</s>CUOMO: And he wants to be the next Tim Howard.</s>BALDESARRA: Absolutely.</s>CUOMO: That's the real victory, isn't it?</s>BALDESARRA: And picture this, Tim Howard as a commentator during the next World Cup.</s>CUOMO: That's what I'm -- and maybe before the cup.</s>BALDESARRA: Possibly.</s>CUOMO: Maybe you get the MLS going.</s>BALDESARRA: Could be.</s>CUOMO: Lara Baldesarra, she is the woman of the match for us here at the World Cup. You've been great. It's been great being with you here.</s>BALDESARRA: Thank you.</s>CUOMO: Back to you in New York.</s>PEREIRA: What a team in Brazil for us, CNN is so fortunate. All right, next up on NEW DAY, quite a story that's going to get you talking. A high school class president forced to step down because she made fun of white culture. Who crossed the line, the student or the school in their reaction? We'll have more on that next.