FanHouse Pablo Mastroeni

The 2006 World Cup is remembered as a tournament where key players fell well short of expectations. It should also be remembered for the play of Clint Dempsey and Jimmy Conrad, the two MLS players who arguably were the only members of that U.S. national team who could be proud of their performances in Germany.

Why is that relevant today? Because both Dempsey and Conrad likely cemented their roles on Bruce Arena's World Cup roster with their play at the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Neither was a national team fixture before that tournament, but in helping the Americans to their third title, they established themselves as legitimate World Cup options. The U.S. team that takes the Qwest Stadium field tonight against Grenada in their Gold Cup opener will be composed of players with similar status -- on the outside looking in as the next World Cup approaches. History suggests that two or three of those athletes will play their way onto Bob Bradley's team for next summer.

A participant in FanHouse's live chat during last night's World Cup qualifying debacle in Costa Rica referenced Project 2010, the initiative launched in the late 1990s by the U.S. Soccer Federation and well-traveled Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz intending to create a developmental blueprint that would put this country in position to compete for the 2010 World Cup.

It's not looking good.

Perhaps Costa Rica did the U.S. national team a small favor last night, of the "We must burn this village in order to save it" variety. The side was exposed for what it is, and it's better we know sooner than later. Bob Bradley has some quality players at his disposal, but not enough. More importantly, this is a team that almost to a man continues to demonstrate the inability to maintain composure when removed from its comfort zone. This does not win you World Cups.

It's no suprise that a club that's dressed in green and white, blue-and-black stripes, and maroon and sky blue, all within 13 years, has had a bit of trouble forging a lasting identity.

The Colorado Rapids have made the playoffs more often than not, play in a beautiful new stadium and have featured players like Carlos Valderrama, Marcelo Balboa and Pablo Mastroeni. Yet they barely resonate on either the American soccer landscape or in Denver, struggling to attract fans (just over 11,000 this season) and media coverage while falling behind several expansion teams in their national Q rating. They have an owner, Stan Kroenke, who's been accused of being more interested in raising his stake in Arsenal than with fielding a winner at home, haven't played a meaningful international match in more than 10 years and count two MLS reserve division titles as their only honors. The Rapids are boring, or even worse, anonymous.

Now, Gary Smith is on the verge of changing that.