Late to the party, but I'd like to chime in here. I'm pissed but somewhat unsurprised we didn't qualify. The team selection sucked and I was concerned when Arena said (true or not) before the Panama game that he hadn't even thought about the T&T match. We played like a team that hadn't been prepared for T&T.

As far as improving the sport and talent pool, lots of good points already being made here. The whole "pay to play" system needs to be scrapped. I love Brunswick's idea for how to achieve relegation, but good luck pitching that to club owners who have invested a shit load of money into these MLS clubs. It needs to happen, but MLS & the money are dead against it. I'm also for more of our young players going to test themselves in Europe. I wish Jordan Morris had signed with Bremen instead of the Sounders. Why he didn't play a single minute of these last two hex games is beyond me, especially the T&T game. Deandre Yedlin is a prime example of a guy who has made major improvements by going to play overseas.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned that I think needs to be discussed is how do we improve the access to soccer to kids in very rural areas. We're missing out on major talent when kids from places like Morton MS, Pinola MS, rural Alabama, rural Nebraska, etc. don't have the opportunity to play soccer. As it stands, those kids only see the "traditional American" sports - football, basketball, baseball - as their ticket out. We've got to get to a point where they see soccer as a viable option. We're missing freakish athletes who might not make it in those sports but could make it in soccer. I realize that in some ways it's not the athleticism that we're lacking, but it never hurts to have freaks of nature on the pitch. I just read an article recently about OBJ and if he'd chosen soccer over football. Imagine that dude spearheading our attacking talent with Pulisic.

Anyway, just something I've been thinking about since the debacle. In some ways, while the size of our country is a great strength, it's also a great weakness. We've got to find a way to get kids, especially in rural areas, more involved with the sport.

Finally, I'll just drop the link to the American Outlaws' statement on our failure to qualify and what should come next. I think they pretty much nail it. We all have to pitch in to help make the changes. Personally, I think I'll look into helping coach some sort of youth or HS soccer. It will be a commitment and require a lot of studying and effort on my end, but we each must start playing a part if we want the sport to grow here.

Unite & Strengthen,

WMD