I was listening to Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio a few days ago when Mike Greenberg made the comment that all the kids in South America and Europe and Africa are now picking up basketballs instead of soccer balls. The soccer fan in me just chuckled, but the basketball fan in me understood his overstated point. The rest of the world has certainly caught up with the United States in overall talent levels. Maybe not in shear athleticism on the court, but talent worldwide has certainly risen. The connection that Greenberg misses, however, is just as the rest of the world has finally strapped on their Chuck Taylor’s, United States soccer has finally shown up to the pitch. This is a parallel that much of the mainstream media misses, whether by ignorance or choice. U.S. soccer has arrived on the international scene, and international basketball has inversely arrived on the United States. Welcome to the global athletic economy.

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As American basketball fans realize their worst nightmare, world soccer fans realized their most horrible fear in 2002 in South Korea when the United States advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. After soundly beating Mexico in the second round, and outplaying eventual runner-up Germany in the quarterfinals, the world got its first glimpse of the American arrival on the soccer scene.

My innate American arrogance would only dictate that the years of pumping resources into youth programs and player development have finally started to pay off. I assured myself that if America made the decision to commit its resources to soccer the way it commits itself to football and, um, basketball, we could dominate on the world stage. Well, maybe U.S. soccer doesn’t DOMINATE now as we Americans expect, but the U.S. is ranked consistently in the top 10 by F.I.F.A. (world soccer governing body), and is seen as a squad that can only get better as the MLS quality of play gets better, and the years of youth player development reap a crop of youngsters on the edge of stardom. The US Soccer Federation has stated it expects to play in a World Cup final (the world’s largest sporting event is not the Super Bowl or “World” Series) by 2012. These expectations are dramatic from a nation that although an athletic juggernaut for most of its existence, was not a blip on the world soccer radar until 1990.

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But the inverse is true with basketball. Similar to the world being caught by the U.S. in soccer, the world has now caught up with USA basketball. These are the effects of worldwide NBA marketing. The Premier League Goalkeeper of the Year is an American, Tim Howard of Manchester United. Who is generally regarded as one of the best all-round players in the NBA? An Argentinean, Manu Ginobili. DaMarcus Beasley, a 22 year-old National team standout signed with P.S.V. Eindhoven, one of Europe’s historically respected clubs. Pau Gasol blew up the Olympics the way he blew up opponents last year for the surprisingly solid Grizzlies. Del Harris coaches China. Brian McBride and Carlos Bocanegra start for Fulham.

I could go on with the list forever, but my point it this: The soccer fan in me becomes enraged at the way the U.S. media covers soccer, or rather, doesn’t cover it. It’s ignorant at best, if not self-serving. Most of the time the coverage seems akin to the schoolyard bully beating up on what he doesn’t understand. But if people had been paying attention, you can see how globalization is dramatically affecting all sports, not simply basketball. Mike Greenberg may have exaggerated about the number people flocking to basketball, but the American arrogance in me can only say that if we chose to develop players in the style of international play (or simply field a team with someone who could shoot the ball) we would dominate international play once again. Still, I can’t say that the thoughts don’t slip into my mind that along with high gas prices two things are certain: USA Basketball is going to have to show up on a consistent basis to win, and the world also must reckon with American soccer for the indefinite future.