Roger Bennett: Did the World Cup loom large in your life as a kid?

Male Speaker 2: All we were were fans. It was unheard of. I remember joking around and clicking my heels three times together like the Wizard of Oz thinking, “Can I go there? [giggles] Can we get to the World Cup?”

Male Speaker 3: When we walked out on the field, we knew that we could beat anybody in the world.

Male Speaker 2: I think anything was possible. We were just like, “Bring it on.”

Male Speaker 4: “Let’s conquer the world. We're going to come out and we're going to cut down your throat.

Male Speaker 5: I truly believed that we were headed in a direction where we could beat anybody and that we could win a World Cup.

Roger: From WNYC Studios comes the untold story of one of the most aspirational and delusional teams in sports history.

Male Speaker 6: USA.

Male Speaker 7: I get a call. It's the White House calling. It said, “We're going to win this game, aren't we? The news is going around the world.”

Male Speaker 8: I couldn't wait to go at the Germans. I was not intimidated whatsoever.

Male Speaker 9: Iran was the ultimate heel right now.

Male Speaker 10: The message was to get forward and get in behind, and attack, and to press high up the field.

Male Speaker 11: That was me on probably 5 or 10 espressos. You can see my face, man. My eyes are ready to go. I'm breathing in through my nose like a bull, dude.

Male Speaker 12: Once games start, you forget about the cameras, you forget about the lights, you forget about the fans and you just focus on the game.

Male Speaker 13: I'm doing everything I think I should be doing, and it's still not working.

Roger: How did that feel?

Male Speaker 14: It sucked.

Male Speaker 15: What are you guys complaining about? You guys are the ones that frickin' caused this whole thing.

Male Speaker 16: There was confusion, there was surprise.

?Male Speaker 2: I was in shock.

Male Speaker 16: Then, there was the ultimate athlete reaction. “All right. There's an opportunity for me.”

Male Speaker 17: Our players are different than other players around the world. They happen to be very entitled.

Male Speaker 18: One of the players complained there was no pizza delivery.

Male Speaker 19: We're there to play football, we're there to do a job, there's no pizza delivery. Can you believe that?

Roger: American Fiasco. One team's insane journey to the 1998 World Cup.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts. A bad World Cup is better than no World Cup.

Male Speaker 20: You bet your ass.

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