Welcome to the scuff podcast where we talk about U.S. soccer.

Hey, everybody.

We're getting a repeat visit today from Leander Sherlockins, a soccer journalist, journalism prof, and the author of

The Long Game, U.S. men's soccer, and its savage four-decade journey to the top or thereabouts.

The book will be available for purchase on Tuesday, and you can pre-purchase now.

I'll put the link in the show notes.

Leander, welcome back.

I'm so pleased to be back.

The World Cup kicks off in just over a month.

Does it feel, you know, as a reporter, as a journalist, as a journalism professor, does it feel like a hot story right now?

The World Cup always tends to do this thing where it feels like it's not happening and like

there's no buzz and there's no excitement because the club season in Europe hasn't really

finished yet right and because in a country like the US when there's so much on the calendar

and there's so many other sports you know you got hockey playoffs and basketball playoffs and

all this other stuff cooking that it always kind of does this and there's always a little bit of hand-wringing over

this. And then the World Cup's not here. It's not here. It's not here. And then boom,

it's everywhere. Right. And it's this whole thing. So it on the one hand, you would like people

to be talking about it a little bit.

But on the other hands, that will come.

I think in a lot of ways, this country doesn't entirely understand by and large.

I think what's about to hit it.

I think they will soon enough.

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