Donovan - made cover of Sports Illustrated. (Allsport)

By Gareth Duggan, PA International

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Respect, dismay, scepticism and disappointment greeted America's 1-0 World Cup quarter-final - suggesting the many-headed beast that is the country's sports industry is finally paying serious attention.

Previously oblivious to the game they call soccer, which entrances the rest of the planet, Americans are suddenly blinking in surprise and interest as their players show they can compete and entertain with the best in the world.

The new level of attention stemmed from the initial shocking 3-2 victory over favourites Portugal, built with qualification from the group stage - despite a defeat by Poland - and then surged again with the 2-0 win over old local rivals Mexico in the second round.

And the style and guile of young stars like Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley has played a big part in whetting the appetite of a nation with a voracious for sport.

The matches - broadcast live from Asia in the early hours of the morning - have summoned growing numbers of fans from their beds and attracted the divergent opinions of some of America's most respected sports writers.

Throwing their substantial weight behind the game are respected columnists such as William Gildea of the Washington Post and the Boston Globe's Bob Ryan, who have both have heaped praise on the performances of the team.

"Even in defeat, the Americans proved to be competitive with a traditional power and often outplayed Germany despite its history of three World Cup titles and customary quarterfinal appearances," wrote Gildea.

"More than any single game the US has played in modern times, yesterday's was abundant with possibility. Could this be the one game that finally weds the world's most popular sport to a sports-loving nation that has gotten along pretty much without it?"

Similarly, before the Germany match Ryan encouraged Americans to get in behind the team.

"Either you're a sports fan, or you're not," wrote Ryan, one of the best known sportswriters in America.

"I didn't say baseball, basketball, football, hockey, or Tiger Woods fan. I said sports fan.

"If you think you are, this is the time for you to put up or shut up. Get behind our soccer guys, or don't ever bother to claim being a sports fan again, because you will have exposed yourself as a myopic fraud."

However, Los Angeles Times columnist Mike Penner sounded a note of concern that the US team had failed to capitalise on its numerous chances against Germany.

"So the Americans walked away proud, and out of the tournament, and the Germans hobbled off relieved, and into the Final Four," he wrote.

"A moral victory still beats international humiliation any day of the World Cup, but the US leaves Asia with a nagging sense of not getting a full return for its effort.

"Years from now, we might have the answer, but for now we can only ask: Was the 2002 quarterfinal against Germany the one we'd been waiting for?"

At the other end of the spectrum was Chicago Sun Times columnist Ron Rapoport, even before elimination.

"One or two more US victories in the World Cup, there are those who would like us to believe, and we will be on our way toward becoming a nation of soccer fans. No, again, I'm afraid ... When it comes to following fads, sports fans are like anybody else. They'll go along with the program for a while.

"Will they line up at Major League Soccer stadiums around the country in tribute to the US World Cup team? Not a chance. Not even if the Americans win the whole thing.

"That would be one of the greatest upsets in the history of sport. But what do you want to bet we all would be back to whining about the Cubs two days later?"

However, the public have undeniably contracted what one advertising campaign might suggest is a distinctly American strain of footballitis.

Fans flocked to watch the match on big screens, including around 4000 who turned out at at RFK Stadium, the home ground for the Washington Senators baseball team.

And, most encouragingly, among those fans are people new to the game but eager to bring the traditional American enthusiasm for supporting their team.

The Washington Post told the tale of Tony Salemi, who had never watched a soccer match in his life, but went to extraordinary lengths for the USA's match against Germany.

"Three weeks ago, soccer was an incomprehensible language to him. But like so many others caught up in the US team's unexpected success, the 24-year-old soon found himself rearranging his sleep schedule to accommodate matches being held 13 time zones away in Korea."

"He and (his friend Ken) Losurdo then dismantled Salemi's drum set, loaded the two tom-toms into the back of the car and drove to RFK about 5 am.

"Salemi's backbeat would help set the pace for the buzzing crowd -- a metronomic pounding throughout, quickening to a roll when a ball came near a goal."

TV ratings have reflected the sudden burst of enthusiasm, with USA Today reporting a 9% increase in overall World Cup viewership on ESPN from 1998 - even with the unfriendly kick-off times - while the victory against Mexico on Monday was seen in 1.98million households, a high for this World Cup.

USA Today columnist Rudy Martzke did have a jibe at the super-patriotic presentation on ESPN ahead of the match with Germany: "Here's hoping ESPN play-by-play man Jack Edwards doesn't produce another syrupy, 'The land of free and the home of the brave has advanced' as he did after USA-Mexico."

Prominent television comedians David Letterman and Jay Leno have both done interviews with player from the team, and the "Good Morning America" show provided score updates.

However, perhaps the most telling media success was the presence of Donovan on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the country's best-selling sports magazine, ahead of newly crowned NBA champions the Los Angeles Lakers, Stanley Cup winners Detroit Red Wings and US Open champ Tiger Woods.