We Are # 7!

While Greece continues celebrating it's Euro 2004 title, the U.S.A. has a little bit to be proud of in the world of international football, as well. For the first time ever, the U.S. Men's National Team is ranked number seven in the latest FIFA poll.

Normally, being ranked number seven in just about anything is hardly cause for a party. The object is to be ranked first. Well, technically, winning is the objective, the @#$% with rankings, but I digress. However, I cannot help but be pleased by FIFA's latest poll.

There are two fairly simple reasons for my enjoyment over this. First, no U.S. squad has ever been ranked this high. For about the hundredth time, feel free to call me jingoistic, but I'm glad to see this country make progress in soccer. Unofficial and meaningless as it may seem, it's still a positive step for US Soccer.

Much to my surprise, football's govenring body, has the United States team ranked ahead of traditional super-powers England (8), Italy (9), Argentina (11) and Germany (12). Neighborhood rival, Mexico, is ranked just above the U.S. at number six in the world.

The second reason is I like to see this type of news is that it may be a sign the rest of the world just might be appreciating our nation's progress in "their" sport. Let's face it, the world loves their football in part because the U.S. has been somewhere between horrible and mediocre at it. They loved the States' inability to play at their level and continue to look down their collective noses at US Soccer, in general.

As examples, when the U.S.A. hosted the 1994 World Cup, the sport's elitists hated the fact the U.S. made the field merely as hosts. Sure, that was a traditional courtesy, but the U.S. had no right being there. The U.S. men held their own, although clearly not as good as the top teams in the world, but that mattered little.

Then came Korea/Japan 2002. The USMNT qualified out of a weak group, the critics lamented. Then, as the U.S. team had the nerve to advance to the quarterfinals, it was clear to many international observers that the fix was in. How else could you explain the United States winning?

In this enviroment, respect for the USMNT has come grudingly. To see FIFA, not exactly an organiztion I would deem pro-U.S., move the United States from ninth to seventh in their poll, perhaps is a sign that some in the football world are relenting just a bit.

In the end, the only way for the U.S. Men's National Team to gain any kind of respect world-wide is to win big games. They need to qualify for Germany 2006. Once there, they need to try and repeat their quarterfinal appearance of '02. Then, it's qualifying for South Africa in 2010.

I harbor no illusions of grandeur for the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team. In nations like Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy and most of the rest of the world, passion for football is equivalent to the passion of all of North America's team sports combined. Those countries should have an edge the States may never overcome.

So, if the USMNT doesn't capture the next World Cup, or the one after that, or the one that follows that, I couldn't be upset. I would just like to see the U.S. be competitive year-in and year-out and gain a bit of international respect. Being ranked amongst the top ten in the world is a step in that direction.