Jump on the bandwagon. Please.

U.S. Soccer (and to the rest of the world, football) just finished a tremendous World Cup run. Roughly equivalent to the Soviet hockey invasion of the 1980's, the U.S. has arrived on the world scene. Soon, our country will be bandied about on the same level as the Senegal's, Sweden's and Mexico's of the globe. Just give it another four years.

What intrigues me about this phenomenon, however, is how eager domestic soccer fans are to garner support for the national team. There is this open-arms policy towards becoming a fan of a team that has enjoyed recent success -- something usually looked down upon. And all because it's not the popular thing to do. Remember when the Chicago Bulls were winning their six championships? Anyone who became a fan after season one was looked at as a poser -- a loser in sports fandom.

The interesting psychological factor going on here can be seen in our immigration policy. Yes, immigration! Canadian? German? Asian? Come on in, our borders are open! Mexican? Cuban? In general, Latin American? Whoah, there. The reason (and no, it's not racism as many have suggested), is prosperity. In this case, it's economic. If you come from a nation where the standard of living is high, and you will supply the U.S. with talented labor, then we will let you in. Especially if your nation is undergoing political strife. However, even if your country is torturing its citizens, a third world countryman will never enjoy the same privileges.

A couple hundred years ago, our country (our team) was built from relative unknowns. A bunch of rogue figures, looking to build something special, and open to everyone, found a formula they liked after some hard work and are now selective. U.S. Soccer is in the transitional stage -- much like the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when America was the curiosity of the modern world. The Chicago Bulls are in disarray. Things were great for a while, but using the same formula can only work for so long. Many top world teams have fallen, not only in this World Cup, but on the soccer scene in general.

The reason our open-door policy worked was because our country was an infusion of different cultures -- a little bit of everything. What one culture was devoid of, another had overflowing. Our country is getting stale. Let's let people jump on the bandwagon again, especially those who will get something out of their American experience.