How Can the U.S. Spend So Much on Men’s Soccer and Still Be So Bad?
On a day when fans are grasping for explanations, there’s a hunt for some economic ones.
The U.S. men’s soccer team’s loss to Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday night—which knocked them out of contention for next year’s World Cup—was, to say the least, a disappointment. It was a disappointment to the players, who will be rehashing the game’s events for years. It was a disappointment to the coaching staff, who failed to deliver what should have been an easy victory. And it was a disappointment to fans, who were looking forward to their sport of choice getting the burst of national attention that has come reliably every four years.
It was also, in a way, a disappointment for capitalism. The U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF),
