It took 91 minutes, but the United States finally put a goal in the net that the officials wouldn't call back. The US hasn't advanced this far on the world soccer stage since 1930 and for a country that loves uniquely patriotic sports, we went wild. When Donovan scored, raucous cheers purportedly erupted on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and even in White House auditoriums in Washington, D.C.

The impact of the US' victory will definitely have a lasting affect on the future of soccer on our side of the Atlantic. According to Nielsen, the average American TV audience for the first three games played by Team USA are up 68% in 2010 compared to the same point during the 2006 World Cup (can't help but wonder if France's viewership ran inverse to that...). An average of 11.1 million viewers caught the English and Spanish language broadcasts for each of USA’s three Group C matchups in this year’s World Cup. In 2006, USA’s three group stage games averaged 6.6 million viewers.

At the end of the day, investment in a sport's culture and professional future has to do with the sponsors' perception of whether an audience exists for the game. Hopefully this proves to someone that us American's will watch soccer.