I’ve always been a fan of African style soccer nicknames. The Indomitable Lions. The Elephants. The Super Eagles. The Mambas. The Lions of Teranga. The Black Stars. They’re wonderful, colorful, rich names. And although I think they’re terrible official names (I’m looking at your Raging Rhinos) they’re superb unofficial nicknames.

The USA has never had an absolutely accepted nickname. All we can agree on is an acronym: USMNT. Now I’d be pretty happy with Yanks being our nickname. I’d be even happier if we sang Yankee Doodle in the stands. But I understand the term “Yank” is controversial in the former Confederacy. That’s too bad because I’d much rather have the television commentators call us the Yanks than the insipid and generic Team USA.

But after yesterday’s performance against Italy I’d like to offer up a nickname I’ve had in mind for quite some time.

It was a hell of a match against Italy. You may never see another one like it. It certainly wasn’t beautiful. But it was a gutsy, powerful performance. We got the draw through brute determination. Everything you need to know about that game was written on Brian McBride’s bloodied face. We finally lived up to that “don’t tread on me” motto that’s lately all the rage in US soccer circles.

It was a genuine show of American character. But I’m here to tell you we didn’t play merely like men, we played like buffaloes. The Buffaloes. That should be our nickname.

Yes, technically the animals are called bison, but I prefer the colloquial buffalo. The buffalo is a great, immense, powerful, completely unpredictable beast. It is a traditional symbol of strength and a traditional symbol of America. Despite its lumbering appearance it is capable of incredible speed, finesse and grace. It is also capable of levels of aggression rivaled in North America perhaps only by the grizzly. The buffalo doesn’t take a damn thing from anybody.

The Buffaloes. It seems like a fine and fitting nickname for the team that gutted it out against Italy with only nine men. Whatever happens in this World Cup, I’ll always be thankful for that performance. It was one of the finest moments in US soccer history.

Ghana’s Black Stars versus America’s Buffaloes. It should be a great match.

Some years ago I was driving down the usual road when all of a sudden a cat darted out in front of me. I had just enough time swerve and miss him. Thing is it had actually been raining that day – raining quite a lot – and the roads were real slick. So next thing I knew I was hydroplaning out of control. Then I spun 180 degrees, slid backwards and smacked into the embankment. When the car finally stopped a single thought came immediately to mind: should have hit that damn cat.

It’s been a long couple of days since the Czech Republic defeated the USA. I’ve had some time to digest it but I keep coming back to the same thought again and again: should have hit the damn cat. That’s the first thing I thought when the whistle blew after 90 minutes. That’s still what I think. Bruce Arena and the USMNT saw that Czech cat dart across the road months ago. They had plenty of time to react. It was natural to react. It was probably the “right” thing to do. You can hardly blame them for reacting. But they did end up turned backwards and smashed up on the side of the road.

We should have hit the damn cat. It still might have been a mess but at least we would have been facing forward at the end of it.

Both The DCenters and Quarter Volley are crying foul over Steve Sampson’s firing. The gist of their mutual argument is that Sampson “earned” a year because he won the domestic double last year. That “accomplishment” should have bought him more time than he was given.

Let me set the facts straight. Whatever the Galaxy accomplished last year was done despite Steve Sampson, not because of Steve Sampson. Let us not forget the 2005 Galaxy was a sorry soccer team that only squeaked into the playoffs because Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA barely even qualified as soccer teams.

And then once in the playoffs they only won the big dance because team after better team imploded: DC United, San Jose, Chicago and, finally, New England. That the LA Galaxy won the 2005 MLS Cup was farcical – as I said at the time.

As for the other half of the double, well I attended that game. It was one of the most dreadful games I’ve witnessed. Yes, the 2005 Galaxy won a couple championships, but they never once played like champions.

Sure, they say the 2006 winless streak that ultimately led to Sampson’s firing coincided with Donovan’s departure for the World Cup. This, they seem to suppose, is a mitigating circumstance. Here’s another way to look at that circumstance: deprived of his usual ace in the hole, Steve Sampson’s coaching inadequacies came fully light.

The bottom line that both The DCenters and Quarter Volley are ignoring is this: Sampson’s domestic double did buy him time he otherwise wouldn’t have had, namely the first 11 games of the 2006 season.

It was well past time for Sampson to go and Lalas did what he had to do. And in firing Sampson and hiring Yallop he also did, I’m quite sure, what Landon Donovan wanted him to do.