US Soccer- Why the "Footballers" Still Haven't Won Over America

In 2002, the US National Team made the World Cup Quarterfinals in South Korea. That team, lead by Captain Claudio Reyna, 20 year old phenom Landon Donovan and the ageless backstop in Brad Friedel won over the hearts of Americans for a very short period of time. Every four years, we continue to get the same excitement for a month about our Americans. Yes, Landon Donovan won over the hearts of every man, woman and child with the "Goal Heard 'Round the World" in a dramatic 1-0 win over Algeria. But besides for the World Cup matches, why do so few people actually care about the National Team?

I understand the allure of basketball, baseball and football as the country's main sports, but for 15 matches a year, there should be a much greater following for the team. The lack of support is almost painful at times, as many people were shocked that the U.S. did not make the Olympics in soccer. "Nope, " I said, clearly annoyed at the lack of following. "We lost to Canada and tied El Salvador as they scored on the last play of the game." The conversation usually ends there, as the interest for soccer is usually consumed with where Freddy Adu has been, why the MLS even exists, or questions about the next World Cup. For myself, it goes beyond that. First and foremost, we have finally taken a European export in Juergen Klinsmann as the coach and attempted to make the squad much more Mexican-American and German-American based. Simply put, both of those countries are better than we are, and having the luxury to dip into their talent pool for our own roster is absolutely critical. Klinsmann has gotten mixed reviews so far, but I have been very impressed. A 1-0 win in Italy as well as a 1-0 win at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico (with a goal scored by Michael Orozco Fiscal, a player in which both of his parents are from Mexico) shows me that Klinsmann is urgent to bring soccer supremacy to this country.

Truthfully, I think we're close. A huge test on Wednesday for the team is against Russia, who with the recent hiring of Fabio Capello, the old England skipper, are trying to gain European supremacy themselves. If the Americans can win this match, they can begin to show the rest of the world they final mean business. Following this match, it is a relatively quiet stretch until February, in which the U.S. begins a brutal stretch playing away matches in Honduras, Jamaica and Costa Rica. If the men can withstand this stretch, they should be able to win their home matches and qualify through to Brazil. If not, it will be another disappointment in a depressing stretch for U.S. Soccer.