It was arguably one of the toughest losses in United States sports history.

From the Olympics to the World Cup of soccer, American fans take their sports seriously, and even if you only watch these events every four years, when it comes to the red, white and blue, the bandwagon fills up quickly anytime it comes down to the U.S.A. vs. the world.

Sunday's focus was on the 2011 women's World Cup final, with the Americans poised to raise the trophy for their first Cup title since 1999.

But for those of us who remember ABC's Wide World of Sports, the outcome was the epitome of commentator Jim McKay's "agony of defeat" -- where clips of nasty falls and horrible losses opened the show each and every week.

If the show still existed, you could add Japan's penalty kick victory to the reel.

In short, after dominating the first thirty minutes of play and coming up with nothing on the scoreboard, one could see the karma hovering over the Japanese sideline.

When the U.S. finally scored late in the second half to take a 1-0 lead with nine minutes left to play, you could see the weight of the world had been put squarely on their shoulders. Not Japan, but the Americans, because that is what the game of soccer does to you on a big stage.

Be it a county or state final in high school, or the World Cup, there is always pressure, and as a soccer coach at the high school level, I have been on both sides of the decision.

That's why I can understand what happened to the U.S. women today, who actually played some brilliant soccer. But you can never underestimate the pressures of the errant pass, or the missed mark of an opponent in the crucial moments.

The team that's behind has nothing to lose when behind, so they press the issue, while the winning team often tightens up hoping not to make a mistake.

That said, a desperate Japan squad tied the game with four minutes to go in regulation, forcing overtime, before the determined Americans battled back to take a 2-1 lead in the extra time.

Unfortunately, there is no sudden death overtime period in World Cup, so Japan still had more than 15 minutes to even the score. And that they did, off a near-post corner kick which was deflected to the far corner, the first of the dream-crushing blows. But that opportunity only came because of a misplay moments earlier. And that's what turns games around in every sport. not the winning moment, but the many missed opportunities that led to the winning moment.

The penalty kick shootout was next, and again, it's difficult to understand the pressure of the big stage unless you've been there. How else can you explain the United States missing their first three penalty kicks, shots they can make with their eyes closed?

No one expected Japan to make it to the final, never mind win the sports's biggest prize. 

And despite outplaying their opponents' for much of the match, the failure to finish their earlier opportunities will unfortunately be the memories that will linger for our proud players for some time to come.

In the end, though, drama like this is what makes sports as a whole so compelling. And the very reason we watch.