"In the big picture it's not going to mean the difference between soccer 'making it' or not in this country, but the problem is that every four years with the Olympics and every four years with the
World Cup, there's a unique opportunity to showcase our sport and showcase our team. And we're losing that. We lost that last Olympics, and we lost that this Olympics. There are a lot of casual fans
who don't normally watch soccer. And they would've been tuning in."
--
Landon Donovan on the USA missing out -- again -- on playing in men's soccer at the Olympics, where he played
in 2000 when the USA finished fourth. (
New York Daily News)
Landon is correct; not only does it provide the USA with an opportunity to showcase the sport, it also provides a pressure-filled environment for which to test our young players. It's too bad our USA coaches are not up too snuff.
Evidently US Soccer and Nike didn't get the list of teams that made the Olympics. US Men's Olympic Jerseys are for sale on the US Soccer website. Guess the Men are trying to capitalize on the Women's success