Does Money Win Championships?

"the USA should be ashamed having such a high population and can hardly compete with the other top teams at the world cup, amazing!!
No insult intended..."

That is a post that I found on soccernet this evening which got me thinking...

Do large countries really have an advantage over smaller countries when sport is involved?

I suppose you could make the argument that historically the United States has done very well where sport is concerned, but is that because we are one of the largest and wealthiest countries?  Or is there another reason?

As long as I can remember, I've been a fan of the Olympics.  The pageantry, national pride, cultural exchange, etc.  The coming together of so many differences in search of one goal.  It's awe-inspiring and gut-wrenching all wrapped into one. 
The disparate nature of the Games is no more evident than in the Opening Ceremonies, when the countries walk in dressed in their native garb (which is preppie Ralph Lauren for the Americans), carrying their flags proudly; happy to be there.  Depending on the Winter or Summer Olympics, each country supplies a different number of athletes.  The United States had somewhere in the range of 600 athletes for the Summer Games in Beijing.  While some countries had 5.  But some of the sports have an individual component.  So Joe from the United States is head-to-head with Mustafa from Morocco.  Which one has the advantage?

If you listen to the person on soccernet, he would say the United States.  More money, more support, better training facilities, etc.  But if that were the case, then why didn't Real Madrid win their league this season?  And why haven't the New York Yankees or Dallas Cowboys won all of their respective games?

"Some succeed because they are destined to...most succeed because they are determined to."

Having the best of everything doesn't assure wins, but the will to win is a powerful tool.  How many times have we seen last-lap passes at the Indy 500, or Hail Mary passes in football?  The ones who win it are sometimes the ones who want it most.

"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself." - Galileo Galilei. 

The answer to the soccernet poster is a tad more simple.  Soccer is not our nation's sport.  It is for Brazil (although they do play some good basketball), Spain, England, Greece, France, etc.  They live and breathe the sport, so of course THEY should do better in the World Cup.  But when they compete against us in any other sport...well...you've seen our record.
The times are a changin', though.
Millions of kids in the United States play soccer.  More of them are choosing to continue with the sport into college.  Once we begin to see more parity with scholarships and tv deals, the sport will only get bigger.

Our nation is one of the 32 congregating in South Africa for the World Cup.  If they do well, or even win it, it won't be because they had the most money, best training sites, or even the most followers (although the US leads the numbers in ticket sales)...money doesn't win championships...

...desire and belief do.