Couldn't have said it better myself. Also, when the USSR disappeared, the Olympics just got boring they are not the big deal they used to be, and Americans aren't going to tune into the Olympics to watch soccer anymore then archery.
The Olympics pretty much suck because there is no iron curtain "bad guy" to root against anymore. Add to that all the corporate America sponsorship b.s., the TV coverage etc and to me it's just unwatchable. That being said, the media and American public really haven't come to that conclusion so it's probably a good idea to send the best squad we can to the Olympics. That means Donovan, DMB etc. A good showing will help soccer's credibility with our own media and corporate community. As for the rest of the world, I would rather they have no respect for us and we give them a little shock (as in K/J) instead of us getting the respect, and the best teams in the world knowing they have to bring their "A" game to beat us.
Re: Re: Should USA play Copa America or Olympics? That makes NO sense!! What you're saying is that you want the USA to be a "minnow" in the world of soccer?? I don't know about what all USMNT fans think, but I assume that MOST of them want us to became a "MAJOR player" in soccer & be considered a "given" in FIFA's top 10 rankings. It's your kind of thinking, Tea Men Tom, that holds us back from achieving "great things," such as a WC trophy!!
Something similar happened in 2000 during the Olympic Qualifying tournament. Brian West was left off the U-23 squad, but went to Russia for a friendly with the full MNT.
Olympic Football Tournaments: August 11-28. Copa America 2004: not yet announced, but during the European off-season (June-July) I imagine Copa America will roughly coincide with Euro 2004 (June 12-July 4).