2002 JUN 17 POLAR MINDSETS OF A TURBULENT GENERATION

Irish coach Mick McCarthy after Ireland's heartbreaking defeat in the hands of the favored Spain 3-2 in penalty kicks: "We're passionate about our football, we enjoy it. Despite the fact that we really want to win, we're ambitious, we're hungry, and we grit our teeth and dig in and we sometimes show the aggressive side of the game which we have to do. We still leave a smile on our faces and people watch this and know we're enjoying our football, enjoy being in the World Cup."

After heavily favored Mexico's 2-0 loss to the up and coming United States: "It hurts us here,'' Jose Luis Luviano, a fan in Mexico City, said as he punched his chest. Tears melted the Mexican flags painted on his cheeks. "There has to be an end to this disgrace where [Americans] treat us like rats and idiots.''