The abysmal failure that is the United States Men’s National Team’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia has inspired (well deserved) criticism nationwide. Right now, everybody is writing
1. an autopsy about what went wrong for the USMNT
2. what US Soccer needs to do in order to take serious stock of itself and make changes.
There have been plenty of Abe Simpson style “that’s what’s wrong with this generation” style rants, with the harangues from former US Soccer stars Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman standing out from amongst the crowd.
Today brought the news of USMNT Head Coach Bruce Arena stepping down, and whether he actually resigned (as is the official party line) or he was really sacked is a moot point. He had one job – qualify for the World Cup, and he couldn’t get it done. In terms of early favorites to replace him, there is chatter about Tab Ramos.
The “fire everybody” crowd is making a loud of noise right now and understandably so.
The next target in their cross-hairs is US Soccer President Sunil Gulati, who held a national media teleconference this morning which was so brutal, it could best be described as a hybrid of a corporate board meeting meets the sad, slow depressing version of the Team America: World Police theme song.
There was one piece of news from that teleconference – Sunil won’t be resigning, and he hasn’t made a decision about running for re-election yet. When pressed about his future, and when he might reach a decision on it, he just kept reiterating that it’s up to the board’s voters, and repeated a whole bunch of tested-on-focus-groups sounding buzzwords.
As the aforementioned movie taught us “freedom isn’t free, and it costs folks like you and me, and if we don’t all chip in, then we’ll never pay that bill.”
Having to sit through a long, dull and dreary teleconference like that is the price of freedom in the US Soccer journalistic community. As someone who has covered the sport of soccer very extensively for many years, based in the city where US Soccer has its corporate headquarters, I guess it’s time I throw my hat into the punditry ring on this one (Or at least do another cranky old man tirade).
After all, I recently got approved for the US Soccer Voices program, which is designed to provide critical feedback for continuous improvement.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/913782762980638720
Given all that I’ve observed, read and heard, one primary idea struck me right away – the US Soccer sense of entitlement.
Start with Lalas’ infamous and epic “soft, overpaid tattooed millionaires” rant, which included this cold-blooded, totally spot-on line: “You are a soccer generation that has been given everything; you are a soccer generation who’s on the verge of squandering everything.”
Next, we transition to Twellman, who pointed out the massive amounts of money in both the MLS and US Soccer, and how egregiously unacceptable the loss to Trinidad and Tobaggo truly was. “A billion dollars plus in MLS and youth soccer” as Twellman points out.
Some of you might have missed Twellman’s rant, I suggest you watch it below:
Couldn’t have said it any better myself @TaylorTwellman ?????? Such an embarrassment. #USMNT pic.twitter.com/rH9rP1r2AH
— sara (@mendesmidnights) October 11, 2017
Next up is NBC Sports, and their headline “a growing sense of entitlement in US Soccer culture, which needs to stop.” NBC writes that
“Over the years there has become a growing sense of entitlement amongst U.S. supporters, and to some degree it’s understandable. The 2018 World Cup cycle will be the first time the Americans haven’t reached the game’s biggest tournament since 1986.”
Simply put, soccer is quite often a sport for just rich kids in the United States. That may not be the case in the rest of the world, but here in the good old U.S. of A, you most likely have to be from the top socioeconomic tier in order to go far in the sport. That’s because here it’s a very expensive sport to play, on both the men’s and women’s side, and the expected future earnings are relatively low, especially so for women.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/917932540295557120
This is why the USWNT have the #EqualPayEqualPlay movement, because it’s required.
In other words, it’s a high risk, often low reward proposition and only the offspring of the elite realistically have a chance to take that bet. In order to go really far, it’s a lot like ice hockey, you have to invest a lot of money and time into it; more so than with other sports.
That’s why US Soccer, on the men’s side, is not elite even though we’re the richest, most powerful country on Earth with a huge population. As Loris Azo of Medium highlights, there are major financial obstacles to including everyone in the competition to field the best team possible.
Azo opines:
“I think we are not giving talented athletes the chance to excel at soccer due to financial reasons. In recent decades, coaches and schools have created a flexible environment where kids can play multiple sports. As a senior, the financial aspect of scholarships forces them to choose the most obvious path. Kids and their families have to choose between getting a full ride playing college football or hope to be one the 9 or 10 to get a soccer scholarship. This isn’t even a decision in today’s financial climate.”
So if it’s mostly the privileged playing the beautiful game, a ridiculous sense of entitlement naturally follows.
In other words, these issues are all about money, plain and simple.
Off the record, ask any US soccer journalist, who has covered the game intensely for years, and interviewed dozens of players if there’s a sense of entitlement. Whether it’s on the high school, collegiate, professional and national level, they will tell, if they’re being honest, what it’s like to deal with star soccer players.
Then ask the reporter to describe the experience of covering the top national team individual stars, when you have to work with their agents and publicists…it’s the very definition of “diva.”
Go look up the hometowns of the biggest US Soccer stars. Then look up the median income of those cities. The answer as to why US Soccer has such a toxic sense of entitlement is hiding in plain sight.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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