In May 1969, the R & B group “The Temptations” appeared on the Ed Sullivan show and sang a song that became a theme for me and the woman I would marry in July of that same year. “The Impossible Dream” was composed by Mitch Leah, with lyrics written by Joe Darion, for performance in the 1965 Broadway musical, “Man of La Mancha.” The song came to be featured prominently in my own life when my friend’s brother-in-law told me to go pursue my love: “Get a horse and a sword,” he told me. (My column by that name was published in the Weekly View in July 2009.) I pledged my troth to my friend, and we married. In 1970, we quit our jobs, bought a tent, and spent 6 weeks camping across the country from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Los Angeles California, where I was going to pursue my dream of being an artist. Her family called us “The Dreamers” and we named our 1963 Volkswagen Bug, “The Dreamer.” Whenever we would return to Pittsburgh to visit, my mother-in-law would ask me to sing to her, and always chose “The Impossible Dream.”
The television pregame publicity for the United States’ soccer team’s competition in the 2026 FIFA World Cup shows two men in conversation at a bar, discussing the upcoming matches. In the background of the commercial, Elvis Presley is crooning “The Impossible Dream.” One man is enthusiastic about the United States’ possibilities, but the other man asks, “Do you really think the U.S. can win?” At the other end of the bar, a man chews nuts and says to the two men: “You don’t believe in miracles?” He stands up and walks away, showing the back of his jacket, emblazoned with crossed hockey sticks, a reminder of the “Miracle On Ice,” the US hockey team’s defeat of a powerful Soviet team in the 1980 Winter Olympics.
I watched the U.S. vs Paraguay game on Friday, June 12th. I understand very little of the game, though I remember my two youngest children running up and down the field in Mooresville Indiana, and their cousin, my first granddaughter, in goal in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey. I understood — somewhat — the object of the goalie: Keep the ball out of the net. The rest of the game is a mystery to me, but I shouted out “BOOM!” when the U.S. drew first blood against Paraguay. Soon that first score was augmented, when “striker” Folarin Jerry Balogun scored two more, becoming the first player to score multiple goals in a World Cup game since 1930, the last time that the games were played in the United States.
The U.S. won the game against Paraguay 4-1. My lack of knowledge about the technical aspects of the game — “offside,” yellow cards and red cards — did not keep me from rooting for the home team: The U.S. got four boisterous “booms” from me. My shallow dive into the research pool showed that now, we (what do you mean “we” writer-man?) must win 7 more games to achieve that impossible dream. The U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) plays Australia next, and though I have a very good friend who lives in Australia — I sang in her wedding — my “booming” will be reserved exclusively for the U.S. team.
It is not too much to hope that when the 2026 World Cup ends — perhaps with a 30-second-long cry of “Gooooaaalllll! — “Elvis The Pelvis” and the “Tempting Temptations” will be singing, having done what they could to encourage the USMNT to dream the impossible dream and to reach the unreachable “Starrrr!”
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