USMNT and the 2018 World Cup: A fan experience now lost

The negative effects come in different ways.

The United States has had over a week to digest the most disappointing loss in the national team’s history, a 2-1 defeat at Trinidad & Tobago that eliminated them from 2018 World Cup qualifying. There is plenty of blame to go around, and head coach Bruce Arena resigned only days later.

The rebuilding process will obviously see changes, and the future seems uncertain at the moment. Landon Donovan has been tipped for a run at being the next US Soccer president, while names like Sam Allardyce and Laurent Blanc have been reported for the squad’s new manager.

These decisions will be made in time, but one of the greatest letdowns of the entire situation will be felt amongst fans and supporters.

The FIFA World Cup is a unique event in the American sporting calendar, one of the few times where soccer is at the forefront for even casual viewers.

The game’s status has certainly grown over the past three decades, and missing out on the 1986 tournament was certainly viewed quite differently.

But it is the wonderful moments that these matches bring that can last a lifetime, and there is a sense of sadness for the absence of what should have been an exciting summer.

Adjustments will be made. New leaders will emerge on and off the field for the USMNT. The World Cup will be expanding its field, and CONCACAF qualifying will not present the same types of issues that will keep the team home in June 2018.

Future ideas will be needed, but I find this time to be reflective of a competition that has shaped my own love and appreciation of the sport.

The big stage

The 1994 tournament introduced me to the world’s game. I spent countless hours that summer watching with my grandfather and my older sister, taking in and learning as much as I could about the incredible athletes from around the globe.

Staying up until all hours of the night with friends watching their quarterfinal run in 2002, celebrating Donovan’s group-stage winner against Algeria in 2010 and cheering Tim Howard’s 2014 heroics versus Belgium with my wife at a New York City bar are all fondly embedded in the mind.

American supporters who were able to make it to these games in-person will be able to describe it with immense passion and joy.

Even the years with poor results like 1998 and 2006 were exciting times, and made fans feel a true part of soccer’s biggest event.

The US will not return to a long hiatus in terms of the World Cup, like when they missed 40 years from 1950-1990. The game has grown by leaps and bounds even from only 10-15 years ago.

Next: USMNT: This is not a wake up call, this is a disaster

However, the approaching summer will see soccer fans in the United States miss out on amazing memories involving their national team. And that fact brings about a potent mixture of disappointment, anger and resentment with what has taken place in their failure.