The U.S. women won four Olympics Gold medals during that time and were consistently ranked No.1 in the world. The United States is ranked No. 1 in the world. Nothing has been as impressive for the men of the United States. Our men didn’t even make it to the World Cup last year. Iceland was successful. Tunisia, Senegal and Senegal also won. Two men’s World Cups have been won by Uruguay, a country slightly larger than Mississippi, with a population just over 3.4 million. Zero has been won by the United States, a country of 325 millions. Today’s question is: Why? Why is it that women are dominant while men are subordinate? I think I know. Many of the greatest male athletes are likely to have played soccer as children, but they move on to basketball, football, and baseball as they get older. That’s why. Take former football great Deuce McAllister for example. McAllister was a budding soccer player as a teen and played on selected teams in the region. You might be able to guess that he was stronger, faster and more athletic than the other kids his age. He was a sweeper and striker, and often won. He reached Morton High School in the ninth grade. “I had no choice,” he said. Football was and still is the most popular sport in small-town Mississippi. Morton was no exception. Soccer? It’s not so popular. The biggest events in town are football Friday nights. There’s also college football on Saturdays, and the NFL on Sundays or Mondays. Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Southern Miss have all 85 football scholarship players. None of these schools offer men’s soccer. Football players can make millions in the NFL and get their college tuition paid. Soccer players will not have the same opportunities. McAllister stated, “I loved soccer, it was my passion.” McAllister said that speed was what made me a good player. There was so much more to me in football. McAllister said that the choice was easy for him. He said that he was involved in so many other sports that he didn’t have enough repetitions to master his foot skills. McAllister would have played soccer all year if he had been raised in Uruguay or Mexico. He would have had the reputations, and he would likely have been sensational. Many of our greatest football heroes would be soccer sensations. Walter Payton? Oh my goodness: He was a speedy, athletic and skilled soccer player. It is often forgotten that he kicked off and punted for JSU. It could be sweet. I’m assuming Ray Guy, who was an exceptional player at any sport that involved a ball would make an incredible soccer goalie. Guy was tall, strong, quick and strong. He was the first goalie in soccer to kick the ball into the stands on the other side of the field. He did it in football, too. Lance Alworth was a soccer star back in those days. They didn’t play much soccer in Brookhaven during the 1950s. Can you picture DK Metcalf and AJ Brown on a soccer field? It’s not only football that is robbed of potential stars. Many of the best male athletes in America choose baseball or basketball. Monta Ellis, the basketball star, wouldn’t have made a great soccer player. What about Billy Hamilton or Jake Mangum in baseball? Hamilton was the top football, basketball, and baseball player at Taylorsville High when he came out of Taylorsville High. Hamilton was awarded scholarships in all three sports and signed with Mississippi State football before signing with the Cincinnati Reds. Hamilton, who was often called the fastest player in baseball would have been a nightmare in soccer. McAllister said, “If Billy Hamilton had played soccer with all his speed and agility, it wouldn’t have been fair.” Taylorsville did not field a soccer team. Many Mississippi small-town schools do not have a soccer team. Rahim Lockhart, a former basketball star at Ole Miss, coached Hamilton in Taylorsville. Lockhart was asked how Hamilton would have done as a soccer player. He replied, “Billy could be a professional bullfighter, if he wanted.” This is my point: Hamilton could have focused on soccer as soon as he could walk, which could have helped the U.S. win the World Cup. However, in the U.S. and especially in the Deep South, this is not how it works.