But those weren't tournaments we won. If we beat Brazil and win the Confederations Cup, people will stand up and take notice. Besides, these aren't all legitimate games to use. Colombia lost three and went home, and Portugal was in decline.

After the Spain game, I heard a caller on a local radio show admit he hates soccer, but just beating Spain was great for the country, and I live in American Football Central (aka Texas). If we got that here, just think of the reaction if we win on Sunday.

We've been saying this for years. I like soccer, I like it a lot. But I don't expect this country to get around to it, and I don't care if it does, either. This sport will always be behind the big five or six if you want to include NASCAR and golf, and our best athletes simply do not play it out of high school.

People will notice if we beat Brazil, people already noticed we beat Spain. You don't have to win a tournament for people to notice. Even if we beat Brazil on Sunday, I don't think it does a ton for American soccer. We aren't a soccer country, never will be. Our best athletes aren't out on the soccer field.

I love soccer, grew up playing soccer and would love to see it thrive, but it will never succeed unless there is huge marketing and endorsement money behind it.  Granted, Noke puts a lot of money into the US team, but it is not a primary Nike focus.  The highlight of soccer in the past 20 years was the women's World Cup on US soil.  Nike saw this as the perfect opportunity to market the women's game to all of the under 20 girls playing the sport, as well as all of the girl's needing a new sports bra (thanks Brandi Chastain).  Nike was a giant reason for push the success of the women's world cup and they (or Adidas) will need to be a large driving factor behind the next surge in US fan excitement.  I have not seen any full page Nike ads in US Today or the major newspapers congratulating team US on their historic win.  If they win tomorrow, it would be nice to see them do it to get the ball rolling for 2010. 

The U.S. loves *big* winners. We never remember second place. That's why soccer hasn't been that popular here, and why winning a tournament is vital for the increase of the popularity of soccer here, and we have to beat a team like Brazil.

Well you have to admit that beating the reigning European Champions is a big feather in the cap for Team USA. Now all they have to do is beat the world´s number one..................shouldn´t be a big problem.
I´d like to think that the USA is no longer a footballing (soccer) minow like it used to be. They are a consistant top 20 team in the world rankings. It just needs your media to realise that your team has come a long way over the last 15 years. Many of your top players play in european leagues. which would have been unheard of a few years ago. So come on you Yanks, and start cheering for your team!!!

Our problem here is that the listeners try to take over the stations. If there's too much talk about one thing, people start calling in and complaining, especially if it's soccer, and then especially here in Texas, where high school (American) football is sometimes given top billing over the pro teams. Teenagers who know nothing about music practically run the music stations, too. We have to stop letting marketing practices ("give 'em what they want") rule our ears, but with that one comment I mentioned above, I think that could happen.

 Soccer's too slow for me.  I have ADD and it can't keep my attention because it doesn't move fast enough.

Earlier in the tournament, USA lost to Italy 3-1 and to Brazil 3-0. Then they beat Egypt 3-0, and Spain 2-0. In three of those four matches, the USA was clearly dominated, with the exception of Egypt. Yes, the USA was dominated by Spain even though Spain lost. USA took advantages of the few opportunities and errors of the Spanish defense, while Spain generated many opportunities and held the ball for most of the match, but couldn't find the back of the net. Although the USA defended very well against Spain, Sunday against Brazil will be a different story. After the first two matches of this tournament, everyone was saying how much US soccer hadn't really improved and were virtually on the brink of elimination. Two matches later, they find themselves in the finals against Brazil, and now USA is suddenly a soccer god. Didn't the USA just tie with El Salvador about a month ago? Brazil will have no trouble in putting the USA back on Earth facing the cold reality; one win doesn't make you. Now if they go on and win it all on Sunday, Americans really have something special to look forward to. 

 Soccer is the most popular sport around the world. I love watching soccer. America isn't known for its soccer club/league, which is disappointing. If you think about, all the sports that are the most popular around the world aren't as popular in America. We love FOOTBALL, we love BASKETBALL, we love BASEBALL. These are the 3 biggest sports in America in my opinion which all 3 are part of America's past time. I mean Tennis, Soccer, Hockey, even golf all get there highlights shown but they're not on ALL THE TIME like the NFL, NBA, or MLB. Heck, I see more poker on TV than I do Hockey or Golf. With a win over Brazil could definitely be HUGE for America and the sport. But even players for the US team have to play internationally just to get better because the competitions not as high as it is around the world. That just shows you how good our soccer clubs are in America

The problem is that the US media doesnt realize that soccer is a sport in this country unless the international team pulls off an upset like they did against Spain.  I cant remember the last time I saw ESPN or Fox sports show Major League Soccer highlights.  The win against Spain was a huge feather in the cap for US soccer but it's hardly a reason to think that the sport is on the cusp of becoming a major player in American sports.

Regardless of what has happened or will happen tomorrow against Brazil, none of it matters if the United States goes into the 2010 World Cup and lays an egg.  The World Cup is soccer's grandest stage and the US needs to show the world that they can consistently play with the sports powers.  Maybe then, people in the US will start to take soccer more seriously.

One of our local stations doesn't even mention Team USA or the Dynamo, even if they win. The only time either got a mention was when the Dynamo won their second MLS Cup, an it was a passing mention at the end of the sportscast. Meanwhile, another station actually has a segment to the Dynamo each week. We need to get some sense into these people who think that soccer is nothing more than kicking a ball around.

I think this discussion thread perfectly sums up the major problem surrounding US soccer....the lack of any perception of a bigger picture. 20 years ago, the US was still waiting on a lucky goal to get them into the 1990 World Cup. Tiny island nations with a population barely big enough to put together a starting eleven, let alone have substitutes, would routinely walk over the US.


Now, 20 years later, the US has progressed tremendously. But because Americans in general have no concept of things taking time, they continue to write soccer off. We look for change to happen from the top-down....while ignoring the fact that the change is occuring at a grass-roots level. Just because there arent soccer highlights on TV every night, isnt a reason to think it hasnt increased in popularity. People dismiss MLS because it doesnt stack up to the English Premier League, or other Leagues. Remember, MLS has less than 20 years under its belt. It's still very much a new league.

Hell, 6 years ago when the US was in the Confederations Cup, they werent on a major network. Now the games are getting same-day replays on ESPN. There's a long way to go, but it's come a long way so far. Case in point....the fact that there's even a discussion about whether or not Americans will change how they view soccer. Such a conversation would have never happened 20 years ago.

Two events in the next 10 years I think will be critical to determine if soccer really makes the jump to the top 4 or 5 sports - a labor lockout in the NFL (it definetely could happen), and whether or not the US gets the chance to host in 2022.

Oh, and @ MH7KING. Spain didnt dominate the US. This isnt even a case of the better team losing. Yeah, Spain had the ball, and had some shots, but a dominating team doesnt lose 2-0. If this were American football, we'd be talking about a shutdown, Ravens-style defense that had some great goal-line stands. In fact, it'd be the American defense we'd be calling dominant.

This is an absolute true perspective. To the point that the US won games in 1994, 1995, 1998.... I say that is exactly *why* the US is in the position they are in now, i.e. many, many players playing it top leagues around the world, MLS still being a league in the US and not having folded, and the US being consistently ranked in the top 15 teams in the world.

That is unheard of 20 years ago. Will the US performance in the confed cup change things in the immediate future? I'd guess not. But look at where the US was 20 years ago, then think about where the US will be 20 years from now. If this progression curve stays the same I fully expect that the US will be a consistent top 5 in the world rankings and a world cup challenging team.

It is a slow progress, but the US is light years ahead of where they were when they first started winning these big games mentioned in the article.

The US was only *dominated* because of poor calls by the ref. If the US does not get 3 of the 4 red cards that have been handed out in this tournament, I think they would have at least tied if not beaten Italy and they wouldn't have lost 3-0 to Brazil.

Since the refs have given the yanks a fair shake, they've had the edge in every game they've played.

The "soccer revolution" is very much like the killer bees - they have been threatening us with it since the 70's and when it finally gets here, no one will be very impressed and we will all have been scared for nothing.

I think the lines on soccer in this country have been drawn into the sand. There are the diehards who will get up early and watch the European leagues. There are a bit more casual fans who will watch the big international tournaments (and cheer for the US, of course), and maybe the Champions League. Then there are the masses who despise soccer and will only watch the US for nationalistic reasons, if even that. I haven't seen that much movement between the three groups in recent years, and I doubt this will move the dial that much.

Some of the remarks in here make me wonder if some people are afraid that their favorite sport could be threatened. Yes, it will take time, but I disagree that there hasnt been much movement between the groups. The number of diehard fans has increased a bit, and those who are casual fans have increased as well. It will be interesting to see what happens when the current generation who is playing youth soccer in increasingly large numbers gets to the age where they are counted in for TV ratings...

if anyone can play  soccerr, then usa can tooooo......
so now its not about hostory jus think about the future and the great joy soccer cna bring to usa......
being a very good nation i think usa can share the lime lite tooooooooo
never too late folks go on....
all the best usa

If the revolution does happen, I'm pretty sure it will not be televised.

nothing has truly changed....this US squad is the worst in over a decade. They faired well enough and lucked out against Spain (it does sometimes happen in world soccer) But they arent this super team that will take over the world. I may sound negative, but Im being honest. Also, its funny how no one is mentioning that Italy beat the US just a week prior to their match with Spain, guess that doesnt count, right?

Once you get round to calling it by its global name football, then it might take off in america. As your own football game should be called handball cause it's in your hand more than often than enough. You have a massive nation so you should be able to get a decent set of players together and maybe in the near future go on and win the world cup.?

They should call it "American Rugby"......................Nope, that won´t work, too much padding and crash hats.

I think a nation as big as the USA should be able to produce enough top players, but they need to start at the bottom, namely at primary school level. If Football (Soccer) is not on the curiculum, then there won´t be enough interest, and some very skilled future players will be lost because no one knew the kid had the talent.

Pele, the women's team with Brandi Chastain's sports bra incident, and David Beckham have been unable to push soccer over the edge in this country.  I would like to see things change, but I'm not sure a win today over Brazil would do the trick.  It's been the  most popular youth sport for years.  I played field hockey in high school, but I don't necessarily want to watch it on tv.

I think the majority of people in the united states think that soccer is cool but don't love it but I think Team USA has created a buzz and I think it will create some intrigue and gain a lot of fallowers. I know personally I love soccer MLS and FIFA.

Brazil back to their traditional style, now nobody can beat them

I've played both, and I tend to call American football "the game for dudes who think wearing pads to avoid getting nailed is cool". I got knocked on my butt more often playing soccer!

A pro had a kid on my team when I was around 9 years old, and he was impressed with me. He thought I could go on to big things. The problem was that my dad is obsessed with education, and he was our coach. So, when I got the offer to move up to an advanced team, he didn't even wait to say I didn't need it.

Yes, you're right, but it's more because American parents, as a lot of people have started saying, have become the most controlling people in human history. If you're not the team MVP, you're not playing, you're going to sit down and study hard, and heaven forbid you get a B on your report card!

Kids have it rough in this country, and games are no fun because the parents are obsessed with being the best. That's why so many kids quit things in this country, and soccer is no exception.

Well, Brandi did wonders for womens' soccer, if only for a few weeks...

She did catch my eye for a while as well

 You know those slide tackles were automatic red cards. Those red cards were well given ones. Its good to play physical, but sometimes taking it too far, even if harm was not meant, will get you out of the game. 3-2 isn't a bad result, but the again it should have been 4-2 with the goal that was not counted after Howard saved the ball from inside the goal. Referees make mistakes all the time but those red cards were well deserved.

i salutes to kaka,robhino,flaviano,lucia the team captain,julio cesser,daniel alves,maicon,melo and others

Right, so you are telling me that no other team in the tournament made a slide tackle, in any game, at all?

I watched every match of this tournament, most of them I watched more than once. And I'll tell you, that if the US deserved red cards for those 4 slide tackles then there were at least 6-8 other red cards that should have been handed out to other teams. What the US did was no better, or worse, than what happened in very nearly every other match. Yet the ref sees fit to actually call something on the US where the ref did not make the same calls, on equally challenging slide tackles, on any other team save for the *ONE* other red card that was given out during the course of the tournament.

Your point is well made, and well taken. But to say that the US got well given red cards and no other team in the tournament did anything similar to the US and similarly deserving of a red card is ignorant, in my opinion. And that is why it was not fair, because the US was being held to a standard that other teams were not being held to.

It doesn´t just happen to the US. If you watch other tournaments, you´ll will always see similar different interpretations of the rules. But, remember ONE thing. The referees descision is FINAL. Regardless if its right or wrong, thats the joy of this beautiful game.

Absolutely, I couldn't agree more. The decision is final and I love how there is no instant replay. Bad calls are part of the game, sometimes they go in your favor and sometimes not. And I'm glad to see that someone else out here understands that.

Because all too often, people will try to make the point that MH7KiNG is trying to make, i.e. that the US was the *only* team that did anything worthy of a red card in the tournament and no other team in the tournament did *anything* worthy of a red card. And clearly, that is just plain wrong. Plenty of other teams in this tournament made plays that were worthy of a red card because those plays were just as bad, or worse, than the plays the US made that drew red cards.

And that did have something to say about the outcome of this tournament, as red cards often have something to say about the outcome of any tournament (World Cup 2006, for example). It is just the US's bad fortune that they were the team that got "picked on" in confed cup. Next time around, hopefully another team will draw the ref's attention the way the US did in this tournament.