When Clint Dempsey walks to the locker room at Starfire Sports after training, he is usually interrupted by dozens of fans asking for a picture or autograph. That is apparently not the case when Dempsey walks down the street on the other side of the country.
The Sounders forward recently teamed with ESPN to see how familiar the people of New York City are with Dempsey and the U.S. men’s national team. He asked random people what they thought of the team’s captain and how the Americans fared in the World Cup.
Despite a memorable performance by Dempsey and the USA, New Yorkers in this ESPN video thought they were talking to a complete stranger.
“What do you think about the captain of the U.S. men’s national team?” Dempsey asked. “How do you think he’s been playing?”
“I felt like he should have been on the team,” one person replied. “It was a coach’s decision at the last minute to make a change and choose what’s best for the team.”
“What was the name of the captain?”
“Landon Donovan.”
That person eventually remembered who was captain for the World Cup, but still failed to realize the captain was standing right in front of him.