Would people in the US be more or less interested in the World Cup if the US soccer team didn't make it in?
349491
Americans, in general, are not too interested in soccer even if US is playing.  The exception are the many Imigrants who will watch and root for their birth country's team.
1144976
In the US, but only watch soccer during the World Cup. Could care less otherwise
1078151
They didn't classify in its group to go to world cup.
1122267
Actually, I (as an American) have developed a new love for football.  I used to be completely disinterested, but now I can't get enough!  I have a friend from Lebanon and a friend from England and I love talking to them about the World Cup.  \n\nOne of the things I noticed about  Team USA is that they are not as refined at playing football as the other nations.  For this reason, I watched them only to see how far they would go.  I knew that they would lose to Ghana, that much was obvious.  But I suppose the team to watch now is Brazil?  Everyone seems to be talking about Brazil and Ecuador.  But I don't know, I've only watched about four games so far.  I may have nothing to add, but I will certainly be reading the questions and comments from this section.  \n\nFIFA World Cup has at least one new American fan!   Go Brazil! (I think.)  Or maybe, Go Ecuador!!
1154080
I would love to see the U.S. win.  Not only would it be an unexpected victory among participating countries but I think it would change how Americans view soccer.  Those who put down the game because they don't understand it, might learn what they have been missing.  \n\nAmong other countries, we are laughed at in the world of soccer for our lack of interest in the sport as well as the lack of ability, of the men's team, to win.  I love soccer and would love to see it catch on here and would also love to see the reactons of other countries if we would succeed after being viewed a huge underdogs.
1001552
well there would be very different responses depending on the country. The countries who have won the world cup before would have probably just found it a bit humerous but nothing more. Then theres the whole tier of countries who time after time are there in the quarters, semis, and finals who for some reason just cant seem to win it all. Holland comes to mind specifically. La mechanica naranja (the orange machine) were the favorites to win the world cup on many different occasions, and they just couldnt pull one off. Check republic and Sweeden also come to mind in this group of teams. These teams would literally want to kill themselves. They would agonize over how some country who barely knows what a soccerball looks like managed to win the coveted world cup trophy before them who have been just so close so many times. Lastly, is the group of all the dark horses in world cup history. They would gain a lot of hope and confidence that a team with so little chance of winning were able to pull through and win. Personally I'm from argentina, so i would just find it a bit funny if they won, but since I live in the US now I was cheering for them. I thought the US was almost guarenteed a second round birth when ghana took down the check republic, but it was not to be. Although i think the US needs a new system of finding players at a young age before they will be able to compete at the same level that some of these other countries play at. Right now, Soccer is a sport for rich people in the US. The only way to be discovered at the appropriate age is to play club football which is extremely expensive in the us. Club teams often run $3000 a season. Some people go through the College system, but this means that the player is already 22-23 years old when he starts training with a professional team, and recieving professional training. This is way too late. In argentina, kids start playing soccer for professional clubs by the age of 12. It only costs about 20 pesos a season to join one of these professional clubs so almost everybody with good skill in the country gets discovered very early in developement, and recieve training by the best coaches in the country at a very early age. I'm off to cry a bit more about our fall to the blows of the german side. I wish america luck in future competitions.
398722
I see it very difficult to happen since Americans don't like or don't pay as much attention to soccer as they do to other sports, but as soon as they start paying attention to soccer as they do to baseball or football I think it would only take them as much as 3-4 world cups since they can really afford sponsoring a very good team.... but hey that's just my opinion
1112458
no.  why should it.  World Cup team won't go that far, there is no interest in it professionally here, and there is too much competition for the sports person's attention between football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR, hockey, golf, tennis, etc.\n\nSoccer is a distant thought for most people.
374560
Not at this point no. I mean, sure...if they make it to the finals they might get a lucky goal at the last second if they can keep a tie. That'd be about the only way. There are too many teams with way more talent out there for the US to have a solid chance at winning by pure skill alone.
589510
If they do make it beyond the group stage, that alone will be a testiment to how U.S. soccer is improving. Many people are complaining about what a tough group the U.S. is in, and they are right about that - but this is a chance to show what they can do. With that said, will they make it? I'd give it a 30% chance.
1014134
Soccer may never really catch on in America.  The game has too few breaks for TV stations to show commercials.\nOf all the soccer teams in the world, it still was quite an accomplishment for the USA to be in last two semi-finals.
1038100
It will be famous. Maybe not like in the rest of the world, but I think it will. I love soccer and have alot of passion for it (although passion for basketball too). We need passion. Not saying we don't but many people think that it's for wimps. They should see some of the nasty fouls in a World Cup and I bet you they'll figure it out. Our team is very good and we should follow through. I know that high schools and colleges play alot of soccer but I wish we could attract alot of young players and train them at the max. A few years ago, nobody gave a damn about us. We just have to show our real potential and play our game. We, as a country, should back our team up in every match. It's nice to know that more and more Americans like me are into soccer.
454423
Quite honestly, lack of success against upper-echelon international teams. The U.S. may be ranked #5 in the world according to FIFA, but that does not mean they are the fifth-best team. They need to prove, from a psychological standpoint, that they have the talent and the desire to compete against teams like Brazil, England, Argentina and Holland in top-level international football.\n\nThe lack of experience by American players in top-level international football hurts them the most. The U.S. is beginning to send more and more players into the Bundesliga, the Premiereship, Serie A, and other top-flight leagues, but there are still too many career MLSers on the squad.
1109674
I think the world would give us more respect. I still think it would be very difficult to win the World Cup. Remember, we would be playing against the rest of the world.
1128875
If they do, your countries achievement will not be unappreciated by the world. It takes a great country to produce players continually that can be of the calibre to pull that off. Good luck to you.\n\nHowever I would like to see the Ukraine or Portugal come through and achieve the unexpected as it would renew some hope for others and give a new perspective to the cup. Also to honour the job, commitment and hard work the under dog sides put in to achieve results and lift their standard of play.
9212
Us didn't make it to the top 8 in the world rankings, according to FIFA's algorithm in the selection of the seeding teams for the FIFA World Cup 2006.\n\nFIFA ranks the teams based on the results of the last 2 world cups - 2002 and 1998, where 2002's results weigh twice as much as 1998's results.
1064836
I agree, USA ranked fifth on the world is a joke, who have they beat? and the championship that US organized, they end up inviting teams that are barely able to make it to the world cup.