# 447: The US Men's National Team's Rise to Soccer Relevance - With Leander Schaerlaeckens

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/good-seats-still-available-7112953/447-the-us-men-s-national-team-s-rise-to-soccer-relevance-with-leander-schaerlaeckens
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/good-seats-still-available-7112953/447-the-us-men-s-national-team-s-rise-to-soccer-relevance-with-leander-schaerlaeckens.md
Podcast: [Good Seats Still Available](https://stenobird.com/podcast/good-seats-still-available-7112953)
Published: 2026-05-25T01:39:01+00:00
Episode link: https://goodseatsstillavailable.libsyn.com/placeholder-385
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/goodseatsstillavailable/GSSA_447.mp3?dest-id=480273
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/good-seats-still-available-7112953/episodes/447-the-us-men-s-national-team-s-rise-to-soccer-relevance-with-leander-schaerlaeckens
Duration seconds: 4313

## Resource

We dive deep into the strange, fragmented, often unbelievable history of American men's soccer with acclaimed journalist and author Leander Schaerlaeckens , whose new book, " The Long Game : U.S. Men's Soccer and Its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts ," chronicles the U.S. Men's National Team 's long, improbable march from global irrelevance to the doorstep of the 2026 World Cup . For generations, men's soccer in America existed as a sporting afterthought: half-forgotten World Cup appearances, unstable leagues, empty stadiums, and a federation that often seemed to be inventing itself on the fly. Schaerlaeckens traces the USMNT's bizarre and deeply American journey from the collapse of the old North American Soccer League and the ill-fated "Team America" experiment, through the make-or-break 1994 World Cup, to today's globally connected generation starring players like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie . Along the way, we discuss the structural challenges that long held American soccer back — from pay-to-play youth systems to cultural indifference — and why the sport's growth in the United States has been anything but linear. The conversation also dives into iconic personalities, locker-room dysfunction, the rise of MLS academies, and the looming tension surrounding the hyper-commercialized 2026 World Cup. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee : https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable The "Good Seats" Store : http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY BUY THE BOOK: " The Long Game : U.S. Men's Soccer and Its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts " : https://amzn.to/4tSAJIS SPONSOR THANKS: Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS ): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS ): https://oldschools…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/good-seats-still-available-7112953/episodes/447-the-us-men-s-national-team-s-rise-to-soccer-relevance-with-leander-schaerlaeckens/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/good-seats-still-available-7112953/447-the-us-men-s-national-team-s-rise-to-soccer-relevance-with-leander-schaerlaeckens.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.