In my younger days, I desperately wanted to make movies. I went to college with the goal in mind. I spent hours with friends concocting story lines for hypothetical films, and even when college didn't work out so well (the less said about that particular chapter of my life the better) I kept up the dream. I bought script writing books (which are currently sitting in a trunk someone in my house collecting dust), tried my hand at movie treatments, and generally just thought I'd end up writing a movie someday.


Turns out I suck something awful when writing in that format, and dialog isn't really my strong suit. Stories were never the problem, though, and I'll occasionally come up with something I think would make a pretty decent movie plot. I never follow up, but still...


This has me wondering what the perfect script for the USMNT this summer would look like if we wrote it now; and I don't mean "best case scenario", because that would obviously be hoisting the cup on July 11th. No, I'm talking about what would make for the most compelling story, one that is believe, engrossing, dramatic, and overall, entertaining.


Problem 1: The story has already lost a major bit of intrigue with the premature end of Charlie Davies' World Cup comeback. Charlie getting to South Africa and actually playing would be a movie unto itself; the climax would certainly be whenever he came on, and since this is a movie, he would naturally score the winning goal. Alas, it can't happen, and seeing as how I've successfully bummed everyone out, let's move on.


Every good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end, the classic three-act structure. We need that for our USA script as well, so let's take a look at possibilities for Acts I and II.



ACT I


A few options. Since the World Cup will be the climax, we need to set up the movie with an appropriate tone-setting open. This could be the Confederations Cup Final loss to Brazil (or if needed, the whole of the Confed Cup run, ending with the Brazil loss) - the players walk off dejected after having put in a massive effort, Clint Dempsey cries after coming so close, and the resolve of the US to prove themselves again on the world stage is set. Even if we flash-forward significantly from this point, the Confed Cup disappointment provides an emotional low point from which move up through the story.


It's hard to ignore the beating of Spain though, so if needed, we could start off on a high, frame the Brazil loss as a disappointment but a "moral victory", then move forward.


Or...Charlie's accident. Yes, this is playing on a real life tragedy for the purposes of a movie plot, but since this is all pretend let's consider this an alternate point to move on from. The last-minute draw with Costa Rica and the emotional display by the fans at RFK might be a worthwhile scene to follow an open with the news of Charlie's accident (depictions of the accident itself or the aftermath might make me a little uncomfortable); from there, Charlie's comeback effort would be part of the storyline even if it's eventual end might not fit a typical Hollywood script.


ACT II


Because this is the story of a national team in the time of disparate club commitments, the middle might be a little tough. Follow various stars through the intervening months, like Donovan at Everton, Dempsey at Fulham, etc? That might work, though it would make the movie a little all-over-the-place, with widely ranging story lines, and doing it chronologically accurate might be tough. Besides, without the collective dynamic on the screen, people might lose touch with the supposed focus of the film, the team itself.


Is there a way around this? Just show various friendlies or qualifiers (if we're using the Confed Cup open) that won't really carry much weight with the audience? Tough to build the drama when the game being used to push the story along is for...nothing.


Another alternative is to shift Charlie's accident to Act II. Coming off the disappointing-yet-encouraging Confederations Cup performance, the hit of having a teammate go down might be the perfect conflict point for a compelling film. The US National Team must pull themselves together, move on without their rising star striker, and push on towards a World Cup without their friend and teammate.


***


At this point, moving from Act II into Act III, we leave the world of what has already happened and move into the unknown. Remember, this isn't about what would be best for us as fans (again, winning the World Cup), but what would be best for the movie. Beat England, reach the semi-finals, lose Germany thanks to a un-called handball? Lose to England badly, rebound to make it out of the group, then shock everyone by reaching the semis? Something else entirely?


If the entirely thing were fictional, what ending would really make the movie the best it could be from a story standpoint? Hoosiers, USMNT Edition doesn't sound quite right to me.


We're just having a little fun with this, so I'm asking for your suggestions. Pick what you see as the best ways to go with the first two acts and give me your third act. Hell, if you want to have the U.S. winning the whole thing because you think it makes for the best movie, I can't blame you.


I'll tackle Act III, with your suggestions in mind, tomorrow.