I've been saying the same thing.. I wanna know objective measures about this.. participation rates of kids? television viewing ratings? something.
I have a feeling the whole Soccer USA thing has an element of myth to it, by that I mean perhaps it has been blown out of proportion. I would have to see such data for places like Vancouver and Portland as well, to see if they have more participation and viewing of the sport, or more players in MLS or elsewhere, than St. Louis. I can think of Twellman and Diramando as MLSers from St. Louis..... but currently there's nobody from Missouri in the USA national team soccer pool.
Actually, if you look at the birthplaces (states) of the guys currently on, or have recently played on, the USA national team, the biggest number come from California (10). Second highest is New Jersey (5). Third is Texas (4).
Now, not every MLS city has a player from that city on the USA national team. But they don't go calling themselves Soccer USA either
I'm sure people like footy in St. Louis, but I doubt the interest is highest in America there, or so significant that it puts them above all other expansion cities.