Sometimes, the little things in life get you through.
That's what Matt Besler is learning after playing a role in the US national team's heartbreaking World Cup qualifying loss to Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday night.
Besler tells Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star that after a loss that will keep the US out of the World Cup for the first time since 1986, it's passing encounters with Kansas City area fans that have helped him begin to recover emotionally.
In particular, an exchange with a local grocery store employee lifted his spirits.
On the way home from lunch, he dropped by Hy-Vee on State Line. An employee there has always expressed his Sporting KC fandom. As Besler was in the check-out line, the employee spotted him and waved him over.
“I’m sorry for what happened,” he said. He told Besler that he felt proud to watch him play on the national stage and represent Kansas City, that he would always speak fondly of him, even after that loss.
“It was powerful. I felt different when I was walking to my car outside the grocery store,” Besler said. “It felt like I was back in that moment.
“I didn’t realize that going to a grocery store in Kansas City would mean so much, you know?”
That's just a sample of the insights Besler gives on the hours and days following what might be the most painful moment in US soccer history. He also discusses the conversations -- or lack thereof -- between he and Sporting Kansas City teammate Graham Zusi in the hours after the loss. And the challenge of returning to life as normal and when family and friends don't quite no what to say.
It's worth a read before Besler, Zusi and their KC teammates face the Houston Dynamo in a match of massive playoff import for both teams on Sunday evening (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE).
