I usually tell people how I really feel. But this guy is an idiot for thinking better athlete participation wouldn’t result in a more competitive U.S. soccer team. To him, soccer is more about life-long practice than any innate ability to move your body in highly skilled ways.
Dumb.
Until U.S. soccer is able to lure in aspiring athletes with more fame and money, it will always play fifth fiddle behind football, baseball, basketball, and hockey.
The tide is changing, thanks to globalization. But praise by your peers (i.e. fellow Americans) is generally more satisfying than any international accolades.