I'm a big Charlie Davies fan. Like the rest of you, I watched his meteoric rise from "Charlie Davies, Striker - Hammarby (Sweden)" to "Charlie 'stanky leg' Davies." Like the rest of you, I watched, as almost overnight, this unknown player from New Hampshire went from just another name on a list to the vanguard of a new wave of American talent. Like some of you, I stood on the rickety RFK seats lighting off smoke bombs and holding up a paper number nine. During his long battle for fitness, I ran through a thesaurus's worth of superlatives to describe his determination. To be a bigger Charlie Davies fan, you've pretty much gotta be named Nina or Stu.


So yeah, I was ticked when Bobby Sweatpants didn't even include CD9 in the 30-man squad. I may have said something along the lines of "I'd rather have Charlie Davies's reconstructed bladder than Conor Casey." And while Ives Galarcep's list was wrong, and Conor Casey didn't make the cut, I'd have said the same about Robbie Findley, who did. My logic was that gambling on Davies was worth missing out on a striker who will do no more than enjoy the free vacation to South Africa.


But after listening to Charlie on French radio this morning, I kinda see why Bob made the choice he did. I still don't agree with it, but I think I understand his reasoning. I know Robbie Findley isn't making the 23 man squad. You know Robbie Findley isn't making the 23 man squad. Robbie Findley's mother knows Robbie Findley isn't making the 23 man squad. But with Charlie, this training camp goes from being World Cup preparation to being the Charlie Davies show. And if you think the fallout from leaving him off of the provisional roster was overkill, what happens if he makes the 30, but gets cut from the 23? Bob did what he thought he needed to do, but stopping the train before it got out of the station.


I think Michael's daddy may have, in the back of his mind, wanted an excuse, so that he could leave the media circus behind a bit, and focus on getting his players ready for the World Cup. And when this letter from Sochaux came, saying that they weren't going to release Charlie, Bradley just accepted it, in order to keep the distractions out.


And this might not be the end for Charlie's World Cup dream. The 30 man squad isn't set in stone, and if Charlie does enough to prove to Bob that he's ready in time for the 23 to be named, he could make a shock return. Which would be a hell of a morale boost to both the team and the fanbase. And perhaps, the perfect twist to the Charlie Davies saga.


So yeah, while I may not agree with what Bradley has done, I kinda get it. And at least he didn't take Conor Casey. That would have just been insulting.