They were young, fearless and decked out in denim. A quintessential mid-1990s American attitude and look.
A ragtag bunch, fewer than half of them at professional clubs, took the soccer world by storm at the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA™. The exclamation point was USA’s David v Goliath-like takedown of heavy favourites Colombia at the most American of stadiums, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Earnie Stewart scored the winner, latching on to a picture-perfect pass from Tab Ramos to complete a did-they-really-just-do-that move.
In many ways for the 25-year-old – and likely for most of his team-mates – the 2-1 triumph was a blur. Sometimes, it takes the ignorance of youth to accomplish something great.
FIFA caught up with the former forward to discuss one of the most iconic victories in US Soccer history.
Earnie Stewart: (Laughs) I try to tell myself that it wasn’t that long ago, but yes, it certainly is. A lot has happened in between, but those are fond memories.
I have to say that it’s not so much the day in itself, but what happened after that always pops in my mind, when [Andres] Escobar was shot and killed in Colombia. That’s the first thing that really comes to mind. And then the second thing, just the day itself. Our fans and how many people were in the stadium, how warm it was, and that we pulled off an incredible win against a team that was pretty much favoured [to win] the World Cup after their qualifying campaign. But that was all overshadowed by what happened several days later.
It sure was. We had the first game in the Silverdome, which was iconic, and now unfortunately it’s gone. But then going to L.A., where the guys had been in camp in Mission Viejo for a longer period of time and it felt like home to a lot of players. And then just stepping into the stadium with 100,000 people, that’s a recipe for bringing out the best in you.
I don’t know. During that World Cup, I was so young that I didn’t even think about those things, just the experience in itself. I say it to this day: the ‘94 World Cup, I don’t remember too much of it. I guess because you’re just busy with yourself the whole time and trying to perform, and things just go by so quickly like a whirlwind. It was different compared to the 2002 World Cup, where I was older and I could really enjoy being at the World Cup. I could open my eyes and ears for everything that was happening. I didn’t have that in ‘94 at all. It really went by like a whirlwind.
I don’t know about that. I’d have to see all of them. I remember a couple of team goals that I was not part of, neither as a sporting director or as a player that I thought were brilliant. Landon [Donovan] in the waning moments against Algeria or Clint [Dempsey] against Ghana and all that kind of stuff. And so top three, I’m not really sure it was. For us, that game in itself and the way we got to the goal, it was a team goal, but it was not something that we were known for at the time. But it was fantastic how it ended up.
No, I don’t remember too much of the celebration. I’ve seen it back a couple of times, but it’s not like all of a sudden I have these vivid memories of that moment in itself. I do remember after the game the chaos and the fans and the yelling and stuff like that. I do remember that vividly. But the game in itself, it just went by in that whirlwind I was talking about.
I’d say we enjoyed it. I was substituted, I don’t know what minute, so I had time to be on the sideline and rooting for the team to bring it home. Once that finally happened, it really sinks in. I do remember that for a half an hour being on the field, being off the field, doing interviews… Just the celebration that there was for us. But yeah, the next day, I think we had a day off and I did my laundry (smiles).
No, not at all. At least not for me. There are negative things about being young when it comes to not enjoying the moment as much as maybe you should, but there’s also some really positive things. You don’t feel pressure much. You don’t have that responsibility or you don’t want the responsibility, so no, I didn’t have that at all at that time.
In 2002, it was way more. I’d been captain and was captain in the first game. You’re concerned about your team, you’re concerned about the performances. After years of experience, you do feel a little bit more weight, but in the beginning in ‘94, I didn’t feel that pressure at all. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
