The last thing I want is to sound like some know-it-all Brit telling the U.S. men's national team -- and its fans -- how to do things. Far from it. Nevertheless, it has been fascinating spending the past month really close to the team during their trip across California, Missouri, Texas and Minnesota as they've tried to go from caterpillar to butterfly.
The U.S. team that I got to know is an articulate, interesting and determined crew that's laden with potential. It has been engaged just as much in the process of radical cultural change as much as it was in attempting to lift this Gold Cup.