The big thing lacking in US Soccer is the emergence of a marketable superstar. Look how much having a Mia Hamm helped with Women's soccer, but there is nobody on the Men's team that is really marketable.
You don't hear too much about soccer scholarships. Maybe that's why, no demand for the sport.
Yeah, but Mia Hamm had to take her shirt off so that everyone could see her (sponsored) bra. That's the point. Soccer will never be as popular as other professional sports here in the U.S., but who cares? It's something you can watch on TV without commercial breaks every few minutes.