World Cup fever swept the country on Saturday. When the USA-Ghana game ended, there was silence at the Globe Pub in Chicago and then a cheer for the defeated Americans. It was a scene repeated at bars across the country.

At the Highbury Pub in Milwaukee, Chris Engel, who recently helped start a Milwaukee chapter of the American Outlaws, said he was proud of how the Americans played and hoped fans would stick behind the team. "If you stop supporting your country just because you lose," he said, "this doesn't mean anything."

At the Flying Saucer in Cordova, Tenn., Laura Howard, wife of U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard, watched the game with members of her family. "I'm disappointed," she said after the game. "I just know Tim didn't want it to end up this way. But I do know two little children that will be very excited to see him. He will be back Monday."