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As you might have heard, Landon Donovan, the United States' all-time leading goal-scorer, did not make the World Cup squad. If they are going to win in Brazil, they are going to do so without him.
After the initial shock of a USMNT side at a World Cup without Donovan for the first time since 1998 wore off, Twitter reacted to this in three ways, which I've listed in ascending order of popularity.
1. This was a move Jurgen Klinsmann made to make his team win, and we're okay with that.
Apparently no one has actually been watching Landon Donovan play recently.
— Zach Woosley (@GingeFC) May 22, 2014
Y'all know that Jurgen is trying to win, right? If Donovan was one of the 23 best, he would've made it.
— Kevin Trahan (@k_trahan) May 22, 2014
Landon Donovan did not make the World Cup team, presumably because he has not been good at soccer in a long time.
— Ryan Rosenblatt (@RyanRosenblatt) May 22, 2014
2. Gratitude for Landon Donovan's career:
We'll love you forever pic.twitter.com/wYoMbosxAS
— Stars and Stripes FC (@StarsStripesFC) May 22, 2014
Just gonna leave this here: http://t.co/oHstMWIkOe Thanks for everything, @landondonovan.
— Matt Ufford (@mattufford) May 22, 2014
.@landondonovan Thank you.
— Spencer Hall (@edsbs) May 22, 2014
3. INTENSE, UNCEASING RAGE:
Let's see how America is taking the Landon Donovan news. pic.twitter.com/TmZ2Tc9Usd
— Ryan Rosenblatt (@RyanRosenblatt) May 22, 2014
RIP, @J_Klinsmann’s mentions: pic.twitter.com/0qRp1XwNoG
— SB Nation (@SBNation) May 22, 2014
It goes, and goes, and goes, and goes:
I could keep going... and going... and going... and going... and continuing to show you entire, unedited blocks of Twitter without a single mitigating thing to say about Klinsmann or his decision. I won't, but suffice it to say, I'm barely scratching the surface. There was also this dude:
Perhaps USA will do well in Brazil, and these people will have to eat their words. Perhaps they'll fail, and if it does happen, none of us could possibly know whether their failure was caused by the exclusion of an admittedly past-his-prime superstar.
But the vast majority of public opinion was quick, immediate, and angry, like a crowd of bystanders watching crooked cops haul away a framed superhero in a movie. For now, we'll hold Landon in our hearts, and hope the 23 guys going to Brazil make a dent.