Hello, FBG's.
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our youth, today was your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around pubs and bars in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their pints could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Arsenal fans and Man U fans, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, Wondolowskis and not Wondolowskis. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red and blue jerseys.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but today, because of what we did on this date in this match at this defining moment change has come to America.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.
This is your victory.
And I know you didn't do this just to win a match. And I know you didn't do it for me.
You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - re-emerging from the shame of the 2018 WC qualifying.
Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan watching.
There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll even pay for Academy fees.
There's new energy to harness, new clubs to be created, new stadiums to build, transfer threats to meet, loan alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one cycle. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.
I promise you, we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or call-up that gets made. And we know that FIFA can't solve every problem.
But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- pass by pass, shot by shot, calloused foot by calloused foot.
What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this spring night.
This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.
It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of fandom, a new spirit of love.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.
Let us remember that, if this WCQ crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving USWNT while USMNT suffers.
In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same teamsmanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our soccer culture for so long.
Let's remember that it was a man from this country who first carried the flag of the US to the WC quarterfinals, a country founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.
Those are values that we all share. And while the U-20's have won a great victory today, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection for our sport.
And to those Americans whose support we have yet to earn, we may not have won your fandom tonight, but we hear your voices. We need your help. And we will be your team, too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American soccer is at hand.
To those - to those who would tear the USMNT down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's soccer beacon still burns as bright: today we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our Academies, but from the enduring power of our ideals: work rate, pace, power, skill, and speed.
That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.
This is our time, to put our coaches back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of futbol; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.
