With all the MLS SuperDraft chatter that this the next Taylor Twellman and that player being the next Steve Ralston it helps me think about hopeful visions of the future. In sports the Draft, the Minors and Academies give eternal hope that any player can become the next big thing. Quite similar to predictions of the future in essay or fiction, these hopes often fall short. We don't have common flying cars or jet packs. We do have tablet computers that make tri-corders seem simplistic. We don't have the "metaverse" and yet we see the emergence of on-demand TV entertainment in ways that Gibson, Sterling and Stephenson could not foresee.

The future is a funny thing. We all wind up living in it. We can never predict it with 100% accuracy. What we do predict as being hopeful turns out dark, the darkness becomes a path to something soothing. Often we project a future that we want - for a player, a technology or a social change - and ignore how difficult it will be to get there.

Some live and love by the cutting edge, others just off of that. While mainstream society gets shocked by the pace of change. Still I dream of teleportation, time-holes and great beer that doesn't take months of effort.

What are your favorite projections of the future?
This is your weekly open thread.