So as the team was preparing in the dressing room before the game, Daly played a tape of the final moments of the U.S. being ripped off in the 1972 gold medal final.

"I was pretty confident before that," Karl Malone recalled later. "But after seeing that tape, I knew we were going to kick some serious ass."

U.S. Ryder Cup team captain Ben Crenshaw should follow Daly's lead. Forget the Spectravision pay-per-view films in the rooms at the Four Seasons hotel. Crenshaw should force the American team to watch recent Ryder Cup debacles. The Pain in Spain, where Seve Ballesteros' European crew danced all over the U.S. The loss at Oak Hill, where everyone dumped on Curtis Strange for blowing it, but forgot that 11 other guys didn't get the job done.

If the U.S. wants to win the Cup back at The Country Club this weekend, it needs to show up Friday morning with serious attitude. The U.S., on paper, is the superior team. This thing should be a rout. An embarrassment. Over by Sunday. A butt-kicking that sends the Concorde crying back to Europe.

It should have been that way the past two times, too. But it wasn't.

The problem seems to have been self-confidence. The Europeans have clearly been the more confident squad and it showed. Some believed Seve willed Europe to the win at Valderrama in 1997, although that's a crock. He did, however, have an incredible belief that his 12 players could not fail and it rubbed off on the guys who actually hit the shots.

The Americans need to be aggressive. They have to play smart, no question. But come out and fire with the kind of confidence that has led them to this point.

"I didn't play well in 1985 when I made the team for the first time," Hal Sutton said. "The reason why was I didn't want to be a detriment to the team. I wanted to try to do my best. And I went in there trying to keep something bad from happening.

"So when I made the team in '87, I took a completely different viewpoint. I went in there aggressively trying to do something for the good of the team. And I tried to attack each shot with, 'Hey, I'm going to put my best foot forward.' If I don't hit a good shot, it wasn't because I wasn't trying. And I played much better with that kind of attitude."

Sutton began preaching an aggressive approach when most of the U.S. team practiced here earlier this month.

"I'd never heard it before, but it made sense to me," Crenshaw recalled. "He said, 'Hopefully, this time our side will think about doing something right instead of doing something wrong and being so careful.' There's one great thing about match play. It lends itself to a little more aggressive play. That's the way you win holes.

"I think that gets into what Mark (James) is saying. The thing is you can't tiptoe through this thing. You have to keep playing what you think is your best golf and it's got to be aggressive because that's how holes are won. "

Some PGA Tour players often are characterized as being too safe. Not going for it when the reward could be incredibly satisfying (see Chip Beck at the 1993 Masters). Safe this week, however, needs to be where the wife's jewels are kept.

"In my opinion, there's a very strong sense of urgency for this team to win," Tom Lehman said. "I think we need to win. That's all there is to it. And I fully expect us to play our best golf and fully expect us to win, as I'm sure the Europeans expect themselves to win. So I have full and complete confidence in the other 11 guys on this team and myself.

"I think it's a must-win for us."

Everyone on the American team needs to have that same sense of urgency. Nothing other than winning the Cup should matter. Playing well isn't good enough this week. The point isn't doing what is needed to get a nice check. It's the Cup and nothing but the Cup.

Put the tapes in the VCR. Watch the Europeans celebrating. Think of them spraying champagne all over a U.S. venue. Unacceptable. On paper, it's also unlikely. It should be a rout. If the U.S. plays with attitude, it will be.