To all of you who say that the Copa America is not important and that it doesn’t really matter, I would say, “Hold on one sec. Let’s think about that.” Yes, this Cup is not the Confederations or the World Cup. It is however, the oldest and longest standing Cup in the world. It is a Cup where powerhouses like Brazil and Argentina play. It is a FIFA sanctioned Cup and while not the World Cup, it is prestigous in its own right. And for South America, this is a VERY prestigous tournament.

We were INVITED to play. Invited. The CONMEBOL thought enough of our soccer to invite us to participate in their tournament. We might not be favored. We might not win. But our soccer is now good enough that we are invited to play in a tournament that is not one we can freely participate in. The invitation is a subtle nod in our direction from the like of Argentina and Brazil, which says “yes, we think you can play at our level.” And whether you like that or not, you must admit that it is an accomplishment for us.

We aren’t a member of the elite group of soccer powerhouses of the world. But we are moving up. Our soccer keeps getting better, and the sport grows in importance in our country. Some do not like to hear it, but we still have a ways to go. But we are getting there and we will get there.

To look down our noses at a tournament line Copa America, and say “meh, it doesn’t matter” is ridculously self-centered. To say “we shouldn’t go, because we’ll get crushed” is a defeatist attitude that has no place in soccer.

If the world is begining to take our soccer seriously, we need to reciprocate. That means you treat big, international tournamnets seriously, and you send a team that will represent us well. That means that when you are invited to play against giants, you send a squad that could be a giant killer, not a giant’s dinner.

If you are invited to a fancy dinner party and the hostess asks you to bring a bottle of wine, do you choose a good wine or do you pick up a bottle Thunderbird?

Stay limber coach Bradley…

And for the record, Bradley has done a fantastic job of bringing in new players like Bornstein, Feilhaber, and Clark. Bruce Arena’s team at the 2006 WC was stale, and they had gone backwards from 2002. And based on the performance in the Gold Cup final, you can’t say that the players that he’s used aren’t very good or don’t play well for him. We’re much better off with the new setup.

And who cares if we’re respected? We weren’t respected in 2002 and we were in 2006. Look what happened. It doesn’t matter if people respect us. It just means we can surprise them later.

And don’t be stupid and say that the “club-versus-country mentality” is more important. That’s idiotic. It’s the other way around. The National team is definitely the top priority. But it really undermines MLS to have Landycakes away for 2 (!) summer tournaments when his team is struggling. It also would really piss off European coaches to extend the season like that.

Cheers.

PS To coach Bradley: What have you done to the US players? They played a 100 times better for Bruce Arena. Now they are painful to watch with their constanct errors, non inspiring plays, and just walking around on the field.

They’ll make more money with Donovan there to play with Becks in his debut than sending him to compete for a tournament title. It’s unfortunate, and it makes me mad.

Until this mentality is reversed, we will have no success like that of European and South American countries on the national stage because of the greed to make more money by having players play for their clubs. This ideology is dominant in every American sport and hinders international competition successes for American teams (see; World Baseball Classic, World Cup, FIBA Basketball Championships)

MLS MUST switch their season to have a summer break while playing from fall to spring, rather than trying to appeal and make money when all other leagues are resting and playing international friendlies.