ATHENS, Greece - We had turned the Odyssey of the Iraqi soccer team into the feel-good story of the Olympics, adopted them as a symbol that justified the overthrow of the government of Saddam Hussein, made it seem as if the entire world was rooting for this Middle Eastern Cinderella.

Yet, when Iraq took on Paraguay in the semifinals of the Olympic soccer tournament in Thessalonika, just 6,213 fans came to watch, and this in a country that views soccer as the greatest of sports.

And so the last chapter of Iraq’s story was played out in front of vast expanses of empty seats. The story may have been huge in the United States and in Iraq, but not here. The world, it seems, never did give a hoot about Iraqi soccer. The team that played so well against such great odds has been eliminated from gold-medal contention by a 3-1 loss. In Greece, it’s not a story.

Iraq can still win bronze if it can beat Italy in its final match. And whether the world watches or cares or not, that would be a monumental achievement and cause for celebration from Basra to Baghdad to Najaf.

The Iraqi soccer team, which includes Shiites and Sunnis and Kurds, is one of the few things that have brought the disparate elements of that country together. In the chaos of post-Saddam Iraq, they have shown that in at least one enterprise, it is possible for all to work together toward a common cause.

But the team’s reaction to the news that Americans are cheering for them shows how far they need to go. They are offended, and rightly so, that the Bush campaign attempted to hijack their success to prove the American invasion was a good thing. But they also seem offended that average Americans want them to win.

It is as if they don’t want to accept that most Americans are on their side, that they desperately want to see a happy outcome in that country, that they want to know that the blood of their sons and daughters was not shed in vain, but for something better than what was there before.

Americans love seeing underdogs win, and, like it or not, we are inextricably linked to Iraq, now and for years to come. What happens there matters, because Americans fought and died there. We can argue about the political motives that started the war and whether it was justified or not, but we cannot argue about the motives of the troops who fought the war and continue to fight the civil war that has followed.

‘American soldiers, like average Americans, want to see a free country emerge from the chaos. It’s only natural to adopt the Iraqi soccer team and cheer for the one bright bit of news to come from there’

American soldiers, like average Americans, want to see a free country emerge from the chaos. It’s only natural to adopt the Iraqi soccer team and cheer for the one bright bit of news to come from there.

The team has maintained that it is not playing for America, but for Iraq, for its homeland. There is deep animosity on the team against the continued occupation of Iraq.

It is a conundrum. Without the invasion, the Iraqi soccer team would not have had the success it has had. Without the occupation, there would be nothing to unify it, nothing to give it and the nation common cause. If Saddam were still in power, his son, Uday, would still be using torture as a training tool.

That the Iraqis want all the glory and the pride to be their own is perhaps understandable. After all, they are the ones who put in the work, they are the ones who sacrificed for their team, they are the ones who scored the goals.

But they have to accept that they are more than the Iraqi team. They are at the Olympics, where great effort and dedication are celebrated by all, where underdogs who win against great adversity are heroes and icons.

The reality is the Iraqi team was a symbol for all the world, including those great parts of it that didn’t seem to care about its fortunes. It represents the unifying power of sport and the transcendent spotlight that the Olympics provides.

Outside of the Olympics, the Iraqi soccer team would have little meaning and would attract no notice. Inside the Games, it had a venue not just for its dedication and work, but also for its political views.

It can reject American support, but it can’t stop it. The American people aren’t the American government or American global corporations. They are simple people, much like people everywhere, who know a good story when they see it and embrace any underdog — particularly one that their neighbors, friends, husbands, wives, sons and daughters have fought for.

Let them celebrate how much they’ve done. But let Americans feel good about them, too. And understand, Americans don’t like what’s happening in post-Saddam Iraq any more than Iraqis do. Americans, like Iraqis, want the soccer team to be more than a feel-good story. They want it to be a model for what that torn nation can become if all its elements decide to play together for a goal.