Calvert recalls sweet win by United States in 1994

Dick Calvert would have liked nothing better than to see the United States beat Germany the other day in the World Cup. For had the Americans been successful, he would have been relegated to the No. 2 spot in our country's soccer history.

Instead, Calvert remains part of American soccer's brightest moment.

The longtime Las Vegas resident described the action for millions on radio four years ago when the U.S. upset Colombia 2-1 at the Rose Bowl. The only thing that comes remotely close was in 1950 when the Americans upset England 1-0. Certainly, nothing since has approached it.

"As the game was developing, you could see that something special might be happening," Calvert said. "But when Ernie Stewart scored that goal in the second half, I knew this was special."

Calvert, more familiar as the public address voice for UNLV athletics, has a strong soccer background. He has called matches in every professional league this country has formed with the exception of Major League Soccer. He has been to four World Cups, three of them as a working journalist.

Not bad for a guy whose background is in baseball.

"I never played the game," Calvert said of soccer. "I have no background. But I am very passionate about it. I'll watch all 64 (World Cup matches)."

Calvert admits it's different this time around, watching on television instead of being there. He has been to Europe to watch the World Cup and he knows the passion that stems from the month-long extravaganza.

"There's nothing like it anywhere," he said. "To me, the matches are almost secondary to everything that surrounds it. That's why if you haven't been to the World Cup, it's hard to appreciate it by just watching it on television."

Now in his 60s, Calvert doubts he'll work another World Cup. As he says, it's a young man's game these days. But he still is the voice linked to America's greatest day in Cup history -- June 22, 1994.

"It was the luck of the draw, plain and simple," Calvert said of drawing the plum assignment of USA-Colombia. "I was working the games at Stanford and the Rose Bowl and my name came up because I was working the West Coast venues."

Calvert remembers it being warm and sunny at the Rose Bowl. It was so bright, he had to tape cardboard over his television monitor so he could see the screen.

"It wasn't hard to get excited because I knew there was going to be a full house and the U.S. was playing in the game," he said. "But going in, I had no idea what to expect."

Who did? No one could have predicted that Colombian defender Andres Escobar would deflect a ball into his own net, a mishap that would cost him his life a week later (he was gunned down by irate countrymen). Who would have thought the Americans could contain the talented midfielder, Carlos Valderrama?

And nobody was convinced the Americans could do it for 90 minutes. But as the game wore on and their confidence grew, Calvert's pulse quickened.

"We brought it up a couple of notches," he said of the energy he and broadcast partner Ridge Mahoney had in their call.

When the final whistle blew, Calvert knew he had been a witness to soccer history.

"At the time, my thought was 'The next game is going to be against Brazil,'" he said. "But it was clearly a magical moment. When Ernie Stewart put that ball in the back of the net, that was a thrill of a lifetime."

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