Convey was signed by Tottenham but couldn't get a work permit due to lack of national team appearances, so Bruce played him in every game (deserving or not) for a year or so.. Then he signed with Reading and had one of the most exciting seasons of any Yank abroad- in 2006.
To think about the Edson Buddle period as an “era ago” makes me feel so very, very old. Like prehistoric man old.
I can't think of him without thinking of Peter Vagenas as well. Same age, went to UCLA the same year, then joined the Galaxy the same year. Vagenas has one cap fewer though.
Nick Rimando always seemed like a nice guy, and I always enjoyed Benny Feilhaber's back when SKC had him doing a Youtube talk show, and then later on his podcast...
I'd say that any US player who makes a World Cup squad is no longer obscure, but here are a few names that come to mind (several of whom have already been mentioned here): John Thorrington - he was at Manchester United in his youth, then his career went sideways, and he made a very brief resurgence with the national team in 2008. I thought he looked good with the Fire. Frank Simek -- I thought this guy was nails at the 2007 Gold Cup and assumed he'd compete with Jonathan Spector as the long-term successor to Steve Cherundolo at RB. Jemal Johnson - probably not fair to list here since he never earned a cap, but this guy became BigSoccer YA famous for scoring golazos in English Leagues One and Two back in the day, and I remember hoping his career would ascend. He ended up being a pretty productive USL player through 2019 after returning stateside. Davy Arnaud - not obscure to most MLS fans, but I always thought this guy was a poor man's Clint Dempsey (a goal-scoring attacking midfielder who wasn't an elite facilitator). They're even both from Texas and talk with a bit of a drawl. He never really broke into the national team, but was very productive in MLS from 2003-2010. To this day, I'm surprised he never got more of a shot with the national team. Brian West - he was known by American fans of the MLS 1.0 era, but then went to Norway and had a few productive seasons, but was on the periphery of the USMNT throughout the 2006 WCQ cycle. Gale Agbossoumonde - already mentioned here, but he was really hyped among USYMNT fans and we all hoped he'd become an elite CB. He signed with Traffic and his career flamed out early on, despite earning a cap early in the 2014 cycle under Bob Bradley.
Bruce Arena. Per Wikipedia, "In 1973, he earned his only national team cap as a second-half substitute for Bob Rigby in a 2–0 loss to Israel. National team coach, Gordon Bradley, had called Arena into the national team for an earlier game against Haiti, but Arena could not get time off from his job teaching at a local junior high school.
Following Convey is how I found this place! Also 2006 was a long time ago.... Soo many sketchy streaming sites. At least some things haven't changed.