You can't sugar coat a 5-0 drubbing. There's no way to excuse it away, no matter the setting or individual participants. At the senior international level, giving up five goals in one half is a supreme embarrassment.

And that's what the Gold Cup final was for the United States. An embarrassment.

Still, I refuse to overreact. I refuse to let the drubbing bring me down for more than a few moments; Mexico had the better side, the more skilled side, and the deeper side. The US fielded an "experimental" team by every measure, and make it clear from the beginning of the tournament that while winning the cup would be nice, getting a look at players who might not otherwise play on that level was more important.

Believe it or not, I'm giving Bob Bradley a pass today. Bradley did what he'd been doing all tournament; setting out a team with several players he hope will contribute to the National Team in the future alongside several players who might not ever wear the shirt again. Playing together as a unit for this tournament and this tournament only, these players hit the ceiling of their talent and resolve against Mexico. Faced with 60,000 green-glad El Tri fans, they crumbled under the pressure. Can we really blame them?

While there are few positives to take out of the drubbing, all is not lost. These Yanks have been through the fire now, and the ones that are likely to figure in future plans will be better for it. It takes a mental toughness not easily gained to play and beat Mexico, and if this loss does nothing else, it makes the US victories earned over the last few years even more impressive. The United States is a regional power thanks to organization, industry, and team cohesion; Mexico still has a greater abundance of talent, and beating them should never be taken for granted.

I'm not going to belabor the match itself. I'm not going to moan about the breakthrough goal that Mexico got through a dubious penalty. I'm not going lament the lack of organization at the back for the US, and I'm not going to pick out any specific players that failed when their best was needed. I'm not even going to talk about how a few early chances for the US could have completely changed the complexion of the match if they had been successfully taken.

No, I'm not going to do that at all.

Instead, I'm going to focus on the coming-of-age of Stuart Holden, the strong play of Troy Perkins, the improvement of Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers, and the peek we got throughout the tournament of a bright US future. One game does not destroy all of the good that's been done by Bob Bradley and his staff this month, and while there are many things that he does that confound me, and I'm still convinced he's not good enough to lead the US to a successful 2010 World Cup, he did the right thing in this Gold Cup.

Let Mexico have their moment. I'm not happy about it, and the margin is such that we should all be a little angry, but the context should help. The Americans on the field at Giants Stadium were thoroughly dominated today, and the black eye we've received should hurt; but we know that our best is still better than Mexico, that we can get results against the best in the world when we play our game, and that the slate is wipe clean in just over two weeks when the Yanks head to Azteca.

This one mattered, because it always does when the US plays Mexico. But we need to maintain perspective, to focus on the relative unimportance of actually winning the Gold Cup.

Did I sugar coat it? Okay, maybe a little. We got beat. Bad, and by a better team. Reload, reset your passion, and start getting ready for the biggest game the US has this year. You'll be better off for it.