This Is American Soccer, US Soccer, MNT, WNT, and MLS - Tackling the subject of Soccer in the US, and worldwide.

Seagal scribbled it on a mirror and toilet lid. We’re not going to go so far, but the fact remains, anticipation is often more difficult to deal with than the event itself. For Steve, it was kicking someone’s butt who had just a little less martial arts training than him and whose pony tail was usually not the greased perfection his was. For the US MNT, it’s the finals, the world’s soccer stage, only the most important games of their careers. For some - the Reynas, the Popes, even the Donovans, this may be old hat, but for others - a qualifier versus Mexico is the biggest international game they’ve been a part of - this is nothing like they’ve ever experienced. And for those, like Clint Dempsey and Oguchi Onyewu, who are expected to be the break out stars of the still young national team, the pressure is even greater. So how does one deal with such scrutiny and expectation? Go to the Nike ID store and make some shoes, of course. What? Did you think I was going to say study, watch film, and practice, practice, practice?

Surely, work is to be done, and work has been done, but in a country where soccer is not king, press junkets and media tours are important. In most of the countries with teams going to Germany, more publicity isn’t even an option. Morning shows, ESPN, ABC, and throwing the first pitch out at the weekday businessman special Mets game: this is just a few stops on the itinerary during the 48 hours prior to the team boarding a plane. Destination: the rest of their lives.

I caught a glimpse of the whirlwind tour as the team slowly filtered into New York. Clint and Gooch stopped by the tightly secured Nike ID Studio to do some small interviews, and of course, design some shoes. Now when I say tightly secured, you are probably thinking that this is for the players’ benefit. Not so much. The by-invitation-only storefront in Manhattan’s Lower East Side is harder to get into than Harvard with a D average and an 800 on the SAT’s. Typically, only those who are in the circle of friends, those who know someone in the circle of friends, or Kevin Bacon, are allowed through the locked door to design a sneaker that, depending on what you colors and leathers you choose, may be a one-of-a-kind, can’t-get-it-anywhere-else-not-even-at-www.nikeid.com. Can you say kangaroo leather AF1’s?

The inside of store is Wonka’s chocolate factory for the sneaker-head, transplanting attractive employees for Oompa Loompas. Sing it with me: “If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it. Want to change the world? There’s nothing to it.” Just please, put them on your feet. Don’t eat the shoes. For the event, soccer was the theme: historical timeline of soccer boots behind the museum-quality glass; boots, flats, sneakers and bags colored for each of Nike’s team. Are you a Dunk man, like Clint? Maybe the Air Force 1 is your shoe, as it was for Gooch? You could go with an FC to stick to the evening’s theme, or disembark on your own with a slim-fit track shoe. A kid in the candy store. Decisions decisions.

I sat with Gooch as he designed his AF1’s with an adorable designer named Joli. She wore a Mexico jersey, but wasn’t too familiar with Gooch, who playfully teased the young woman as she tried to keep her professionalism. In between design sessions Gooch and Clint did interviews for joga.com, BET, and more than anything browsed through the store, chilling with friends, PR reps, and in Clint case, his forever present guardians –brother Ryan and sister Crystal.

Being May 31, Clint was thinking about his website’s launch the following day, while Ryan picked my brain about the blogosphere. For guys who had the Finals mere days away, they were relaxed and confident. Non-stop media appointments kept their minds from the nerve-racking anticipation they both admitted would be back inside their heads before too long… because finally, the wait was over. T-minus was measured in hours, not weeks, months, or even days. Tomorrow, Germany awaited, along with the rest of theirs.