At least we showed up to play.

Seriously, the US men's team made Italy earn that win. On the other hand, we won the kit competition hands down. Crisp, clean, and white [no rain, alas] versus the enjoyable powder blue jersey and WTF? brown shorts of Team Italia. Long sleeves? Seriously, Azzuri, you were in bloody South Africa. Long sleeves?! and brown shorts. *headdesk*

From SFC: U.S. FALLS TO ITALY IN CONFEDERATIONS CUP OPENER:

The U.S. Men’s National Team dropped its first match of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, falling 3-1 to world champions Italy in Tshwane/Pretoria. The U.S. was reduced to 10 men in the 33rd minute when Ricardo Clark was issued a red card for a tackle on Gennaro Gattuso. Landon Donovan scored the lone goal for the USA, slamming home a penalty kick in the 41st minute after Giorgio Chiellini took down Jozy Altidore in the 18-yard-box. Italy bounced back in the 58th minute, with second-half sub Guiseppe Rossi hammering a shot from distance. Daniele De Rossi added a second goal in the 72nd minute and Andrea Pirlo combined with Rossi for the third and final score in second-half stoppage time. The U.S. will next face Brazil on June 18 in the same venue (ESPN2 / TeleFutura, 9:55 a.m. ET). The United States finishes group play on June 21 against Egypt at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg (ESPN2 / TeleFutura, 2:25 p.m. ET). Fans can also follow all the USA’s matches live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. All Confederations Cup matches televised on ESPN and ESPN2 will be available in high definition. Additionally, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD will feature three pre-game shows leading up to the USA’s match against Brazil, the game between Italy and Brazil on June 21 and the Confederations Cup final on June 28. All three pre-game shows begin at 2 p.m. ET. The FIFA Confederations Cup is made up of the six champions of each regional confederation, the defending World Cup champions, and the host nation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The U.S. qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup by winning their second consecutive CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2007.