(CNN) The word epic gets thrown around a lot these days but there's no other way to describe what we saw Tuesday.
It was an epic battle. Team USA goalie Tim Howard on one hand. The entire Belgian team on the other.
Facing the relentless onslaught of Belgium's offense Howard made 16 saves setting a World Cup record.
Tim Howard inspires off the field tooThe United States lost the match 2 1 and is out of the tourney but the nation gained a soccer hero.
Here's what you need to know about the 35 year old Howard
He's a devout Christian
Faith is a key part of Howard's life and shapes who he is.
The most important thing in my life is Christ Howard said in a 2006 interview with Campus Crusade for Christ. He's more important to me than winning or losing or whether I'm playing or not. Everything else is just a bonus.
He was born in North Brunswick New Jersey to an African American father and a Hungarian mother.
He is all tatted up
Howard loves his body art.
You want ink you got it chest abs biceps back.
His kids are there on his left pec. Jesus is on the left biceps. You'll find his home state of New Jersey on his belly.
There's a dove too. A star. Some Roman numerals. The more you look the more you find.
He is anti fur
Howard bared his well sculpted upper body for PETA's Ink not mink campaign.
The pitch Fur only looks good on its original owner. Be comfortable in your own skin and let animals keep theirs.
He lives with Tourette's syndrome
For Howard it's not a big deal just part of his life. But it does come with some misconceptions.
It's something that I live with every day. For me now in my life it's like breathing for me. If I woke up and didn't have Tourette's syndrome it would feel weird not better or worse just different. So I'm very happy and comfortable with it he said.
Many know it only as the swearing disease but only about 10% of people with Tourette's syndrome swear uncontrollably.
You know we don't all curse Howard told Yahoo Sports a couple of weeks ago. I do on the field unfortunately to get my point across but it's not because of my condition.
People with Tourette's syndrome suffer from involuntary tics which can be either verbal or physical. Physical tics may include jumping or twitching. People with the syndrome describe a tic as being like a sneeze impossible to hold in without extreme discomfort.
He once scored a goal
How many goalkeepers can claim this feat
While playing for Everton his English Premier League team Howard booted a ball the length of the pitch catching the Bolton goalie by surprise.
The crowd and his teammates went nuts but Howard told The Guardian he felt bad for the opposing keeper.
You never want to see that happen he said. It's not nice it's embarrassing.
He wasn't really that good when he started out
When Howard began his pro career as a 22 year old goalkeeper for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of MLS he was known as a great athlete who could make great saves. Some reports have even said he could have played basketball in college.
But the 6 foot 3 Howard wasn't particularly good at other things like distributing the ball after he made a nice stop. It's something he is much much better at today.
In 2001 he was MLS goalkeeper of the year. And Manchester United one of the most successful European clubs in history worked out a transfer deal for him.
Howard spent four years with Manchester United before transferring to Everton.
He is the 'modern Jesus'
Even before the game ended Tuesday Howard's incredible saves got Twitter in a tizzy.
Comparisons to Jesus abounded. Sample tweet Jesus saves and so does Tim Howard.
Difference between Tim Howard and Jesus Jesus had 11 guys he could trust
Patrick Osgood ( PatrickOsgood) July 1 2014Then came the memes of all the things TimHowardCouldSave Dinosaurs the Titanic Blockbuster from closing.
He is the 'U.S. secretary of defense'
Well at least he was for a little while on Tuesday according to Wikipedia.
So impressive was his performance against the Belgians that someone edited the free on line encyclopedia pulling Chuck Hagel from the page and inserting Howard.
The folks at Wikipedia caught the vandalism and restored the real secretary of defense to his rightful position.
He is one of the best goalies in the world
Don't believe us Just ask his coaches.
His club coach has said there is no better goalkeeper in the Premier League.
His belief and understanding of the game and his desire to achieve more is contagious Roberto Martinez told FIFA.com.
National team coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in May that Howard is one of the top five goalies in the world.
And if there were any doubters he silenced them all on Tuesday.
He is coming back in 2018 (or is he )
This may not be Howard's final World Cup. Plenty of goalies have played in their late 30s and early 40s.
But backup Brad Guzan who plays at Aston Villa in England is five years younger.
Howard has yet to say whether he wants to be in the net when the team tries to qualify for Russia host of the 2018 World Cup.
And he wasn't giving any clues on Wednesday when he talked with CNN's Chris Cuomo.
Right now emotions are high and that's never a time to make an important decision Howard said. I'll speak to the important people who matter in this process and take my time and figure it out.
It's a long four years but also this team is very talented and very young and so it's exciting.
Off the field The men of the U.S. team
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