The 25-year-old, who made his NAB Cup debut for the Magpies on Friday night against the Sydney Swans, says there is potential for more American athletes to make the transition into the game and seek similar opportunities to his own.
"As far as seeking more talent, I absolutely believe it. I like to think of myself as being a unique athlete but there's probably 100,000 other guys like myself that can do what I've done to this point," he told SEN on Monday morning.
"It's all predicated on how much they want to do it and how much they want to sacrifice as much as I've had to."
"Obviously I would like to set the world on fire eventually but until then, I'd like to think I can be that bridge over the gap between the States and here, to hopefully bring in new and better talent than myself in the near future.
"We'll see what happens but I hope I can show everyone it can be done and that it could be another avenue for talent or at least marketing ability."
Steps are already in place to strengthen ties between the US and the AFL, with League director of coaching Peter Schwab currently in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine, where he hopes to meet with the "roof body" for US college sport.
Schwab recently told afl.com.au he hoped a meeting with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) would cover how AFL could become an option for footballers and basketball players who don't get drafted.
McNamara, who hails from Milwaukee, hadn't heard of Australian Rules until he was 23 and introduced himself to the Pies via an audition clip he put on YouTube.
While he who didn't look out of place in the Magpies' 14-point win over the Swans with one goal, eight touches and five marks, McNamara realises he faces a tough task to break into the side in the season proper.
However, the former basketball player was buoyed by his experience at Etihad Stadium and believes he showed his recruitment wasn't just a move of propaganda to push the game into the US.
"I thought I was pretty cultured and to not know what a great sport this is … was really a shame," he said.
"Because of that, I had to work my tail off even harder than everyone else just to try to become one with the people here.
"But a lot of people didn't like [the way I made it here] and for that I had a lot of doubters and haters that I needed to prove wrong and let them know I actually can play and I do have skill and potential."
McNamara, who arrived in Australia late in 2009, admitted it had taken him awhile to adjust to the regular use of slang by his teammates.
"When I first got out here on my trial a year and a half ago, I had no idea what anybody was saying because of all the different terminology," he said.
Shae McNamara is a $92,500 ruckman in the Toyota AFL Dream Team competition.
