Seeding is Confusing

An American confused by the use of "Seeding", and should we be upset?
 

So first of all, It's been a bit confusing seeing everybody talk about the "seeded" teams at the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.  I grew up in the American sports landscape, where the term was most often applied to college tournaments (such as the NCAA basketball tournament).  In those tournaments the top ranked teams are considered to be "#1 seeds", while the very worst teams to make the tournament are "16 seeds".  It has been more than a little confusing for me trying to understand the coverage of the "seeding process", because every time there was a reference to France or the USA being in danger of going unseeded it held a very different meaning to me.  I thought they were implying that we were in danger of missing the tournament, which of course at this stage would be impossible.  Maybe it was obvious to everybody else, but I was a little slow on the uptick.

Now that I (semi)understand the way the term is used in this case, I feel qualified to make broad sweeping judgements about it.  My first being: the USA should absolutely NOT  be a top seed.  I have watched every Yanks game since (at least) the end of the 2010 World Cup, and not once did I think that they were a top 7 team in the world.  The victory over Germany's C team was truly a great moment for us, and even something of a turning point.  It showed that we actually do have the confidence to go for goals when playing against teams that are supposedly superior, but I don't think anybody in their right mind though it catapulted us into the same conversation as the Germans.  Our thrashing at the hands of Belgium earlier in the week was much more indicative of our current position, although it seems so long ago after the string of wins we were treated to afterward.  But read this list of teams and tell me with a straight face that the USA belongs in front of one of them:

1. Spain
2. Argentina
3. Germany
4. Italy
5. Colombia
6. Belgium
7. Uruguay

No Chance.  You won't meet a bigger Yanks fan than me, but it does a disservice to the cause to prematurely put them in conversations they don't belong in.  We need to recognize that we are extremely lucky to qualify out of CONCACAF, and that our road to the WC Finals is about as easy as it gets (especially with Mexico reverting to just another CONCACAF minnow).  It won't always be that way, but for now it is the reality that we are faced with.  I would be the first to tell you that MLS has and will continue to raise the level of play throughout the region, but that does not mean that the work is done. 

There will come a day when the USA should get TOTALLY PISSED OFF about being left out of the top seeds for the World Cup Finals, but it is not this day.  We should just shut the hell up and count ourselves lucky to qualify in first place out of one of the World's easiest regions, and start turning our attentions to our possibilities in Brazil.  You don't need to be a number 1 seed to make a great run in the tournament, and in fact at this point in our development it might add an unnecessary layer of pressure.  The Yanks aren't ready to head to a WC with the media talking about how they are a top 8 team in the world, and anything less than a run to the semifinals should be considered a disappointment.  It feels like a sure way to entice the Sports Gods into causing a catastrophic meltdown. Don't anger the Sports Gods.  Just be cool, and pretend it's 2002 all over again.  Plucky underdogs, nobody believed in us, damned Yankees, the whole nine. 

And besides, if we looked that bad for 70 minute at home against Jamaica what chance do we realistically have in Brazil against a team like Colombia?