I was a below-average halfback

I don't get soccer. I know, I know; it's a super popular sport throughout the world, and the World Cup is watched by billions and billions of people. Still, at the end of the day, I don't get the sport, and have never really liked it. Probably the last time I played soccer was sophomore year of high school (we won't get into how long ago that was), and I remember saying to Anna Guico that first day, "I hate soccer. Always have." That's what I liked about school though, each sport only lasted a few weeks. Anyway, so the World Cup is huge and on television all the time right now, and Brian's made me suffer through a couple matches in an effort to rid me of the distaste, but I still don't like it.
So we were trying to figure out why the USA lost their game yesterday, and why no one really cares in this country. We hit the nail on the head with this brilliant observation: there's no money to be made in the U.S. on soccer. Sure, all the kids play it in school, but what do all the really good athletes grow up to play? Baseball. Basketball. Football. Those sports are considered to be our national pastimes, and because of the audiences involved, the money goes to them. If there was a market for professional soccer (more so than now, certainly; and at any rate, it's ridiculously below the level of soccer stardom that players in other countries see), more athletes would be involved, and we'd be real contenders on a stage like the World Cup.
As it stands now, the young athletes see where the money in this country can be made, and unfortunately for soccer, it's made on a diamond, court and gridiron. Until and unless that changes, we're doomed to a disappointing showing.

[Editor's note: This post is based completely on the fact that this is the men's tournament. Don't start with me about the girls; I know they kicked butt.]