The state of the USMNT.

There is nothing possible in that equation because that is not the country we live in. Amateur basketball, football, baseball... whatever system pro sports is plugged into is based on one thing... self interest. The developmental pyramid of all those American sports has been installed for enough generations so gradually every person involved striving for career advancement or purpose at some sort of basic level. Whether its the old high school coach who didn't fulfill his dream so he teaches prospective students and aims them at the Alma Mater of his choice. Or maybe some former pro who once played at the pro level and now teaches private skills training to star prep receivers. While athletic companies work around changing rules to put on tournaments, skills camps are made available enough that even poor parents can just about enough cover it. And there is just enough graft in all areas that it is self sustaining. Then the NCAA and pro leagues wipe off the cream. American amateur sports is as much a result of late stage capitalism as everything else is.

So... When we say "the world's poor man's sport in America is not soccer..." Yeah. No shit. Because the poor kids in the ghettos and rusted out trailer parks already have their career path to investing in their future. They can see the future houses for their mothers and celebrity perks of being a pro athlete. What people see as gate keeping is just an pro athletic culture that passes that gate by. Soccer is a niche sport because the best athletes are deliberately lined up into other lines. "This many 5 star defensive backs," says every single Div 1 coach in America. "This many 5 star centers in the US." says every single Div 1 coach in America. And when kids are discouraged from multi-sport involvement at all levels, coaches are saying to the soccer establishment unceremoniously, "This is my livelihood and that's all I care about. Don't you dare fuck with my self interest." Soccer will never make enough inroads until the HS sports culture in America cuts off programs like Heads Up Football and poor disadvantaged parents say, "Fuck you Roger Goodell! I don't want my kids to be Tom Brady, I want them to be Lionel Messi because it is in their best interests." But that is never going to be the product of the USSF being wholly competent. It will be the result of cultural change and accident most likely.

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