Lest there be any doubt Friday’s World Cup Qualifier will immediately takes its place among national team lore, the players created the ultimate souvenir from their win over Costa Rica:
That image is from U.S. Soccer’s Instagram, with the account explaining, “The entire #USMNT signed this shovel after the game tonight!”
Absolutely amazing. Whomever thought of this deserves some kind of Medal of U.S. Soccer Honor. Now one of the strangest games in national team history can be remembered with one of its most incredible pieces of memorabilia. Some are calling this the Snow Game, but after seeing this, Show Shovel Game sounds even better.
That shovel, the snow, the controversy that surrounds the decision to finish the game - they’re all things which will allow history to overshadow the tension that had built ahead of this match. Having been pushed through that gauntlet to emerge victorious, the national deserves something special to commemorate the occasion.
(MORE: How a “real snow battle” unfolded.)