"The reason this game was the most important in our history was because at home people were tuned in a way they've never been tuned in. Was the Colombia game in '94 very important? Sure. Was the (World Cup qualifying) game in '89? Yes. But in '89, the 30 of us and a few thousand knew. This is different. Everyone knows what’s going on. ... I don't think we’re going to convert the American population overnight, but anybody that watched today's game and can't get excited about it, we're not gonna win them over, I accept that. But I think we'll win a lot of people over today."

-- U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. (McClatchy Newspapers)