And just like that, with one simple tweet, the brains of the entire American soccer world began spinning and churning out "what-if" scenarios and possibilities in their heads.
So many people had just recently hopped aboard the Jurgen Klinsmann bandwagon following the 0-0 draw against Mexico at the Azteca, though. Doesn't he realize it only gets easier from here on out now that he's won over a sizable portion of the national fanbase? We were practically destined to lift the World Cup trophy after that heroic Tuesday night in March.
But really, what if Klinsmann left his post as US national team manager after less than two years on the job? It's difficult to say whether there would be more American soccer fans happy to see Klinsmann go, upset that he bailed on the program prematurely, or upset that he bailed prematurely and still happy to see him go.
Who would be the new boss? Surely the group calling for Bob Bradley to return would not be a quiet congregation. What about some of the leading head man in MLS whose names have been previously mentioned in passing with the US job? Dominic Kinnear? Sigi Schmid? Jason Kreis? What about another former national team boss, Bruce Arena, to lead the team for thirteen months through next summer's World Cup and then make way for the permanent replacement?
I'll bet that would get Landon Donovan back into the USMNT rather quickly.
Would we be better off without Klinsmann now? Could we recover from such upheavel a year out from a World Cup? Would Donovan's dream of ever moving to Everton permanently be dead in the water? Was Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard one of the players speaking out against Klinsmann before the qualifiers in March, thus his time at Everton comes to an end?
Would Roberto Martinez still want to be on American television with ESPN during the World Cup? Because he was awesome in 2010, and I want him back. So many dominoes and so many questions that we'll probably never get to see the answer, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it.
So just continue to pay us no mind over here in America, sports-betting companies in the UK. We'll have our mini-freakout session over something that was probably never likely to happen, while you manufacture more clicks and wagers from gullible gamblers.
