Belgium, Beckerman, and a modicum of excitement as US aims for quarterfinals

The United States takes on Belgium today. If you're excited about that, we don't think we can blame you for that.

And if you're distracted from Saturday's something-something against Chivas USA, we can't blame you for that one, either.

I know we talk about him a lot — and by a lot, I mean, well, non-stop, basically — but we're not the only ones. A New York Times piece that surveys some US Soccer-knowledgerati-types has Beckermna in the top five for penalty takers for the U.S., which comes as no surprise. Scott Pierce at MLS Soccer talks to Kyle. Chris Kamrani at the Salt Lake Tribune talks to the man himself, too.

Everyone's excited, and it's hard to imagine getting here without our captain, our leader — the man that's been as big a part of our transcendence of our station at Real Salt Lake as any single player.

If we're going to get past Belgium, Kyle Beckerman will play as big a role as anybody. And that's beyond exciting.