This post provides some background, gathered from around the web and my own opinions, about the American-ness of the United States 2014 World Cup team. As a fan of United States soccer, I often worry not only about how good our team is, but also how American. To this end, I discuss the 23 players headed for Brazil and rank them, subjectively, from least to most American.
I hope this doesn't sound too xenophobic. We are, of course, a nation of immigrants, and I don't mean to imply that players with foreign ties can't be just as American as those whose family has lived here for generations. American-ness is primarily a state of mind. The first, most relevant question to determine whether a given player is American is whether, if every country were equally talented, equally likely to make the World Cup, and equally interested in his services, he would choose to play for the United States. This is the first distinction I will make.
But while we're at it, I thought it would be fun within groups to delve into not just whether a given player is American, but how American. This quality can be hard to define, but it can be very apparent. Brad Friedel was the best US goalie of his generation, but Kasey Keller was way more American. Brek Shea may not been very smart to post this picture, but it was very American all the same.
Without further ado, here's our team, by position, and then by ranking.
