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Soccer (as opposed to "futbol" or what the Europeans and the rest of the world call football) is a great sport. I coached my sons from the ages of 6 and 7 to about 14. That is when soccer is interesting. 13 and 14 year olds who know what they are doing on small fields. Offense, defense and strategy. Not what the World Cup offers.

After saying that, I will likely not spend any time watching the World Cup games on TV. For us Americans, the problems with soccer revolve around the fact that as it is currently configured, soccer is not made for TV. The field is too big, there are too many players and there is little if any real action. Most of what you see on TV now is the green field, a few players and the ball being kicked back and forth in the middle of the field far from the goals.

Soccer should be changed for American TV and interest, considering that it is the most popular sport for kids these days. Make the field about the size of an American football field or smaller, reduce the teams to 7 or 8 a side and find ways to increase scoring. You need more action. The rules on the clock are ridiculous. Make 2 or 3 periods of specific time length and in the last 2 minutes stop the clock. No more of this arbitrary "extra time" decided by referees. Until the game is changed (not likely given that the rest of the world seems to like the way it is set up), it will be difficult to get significant American fan support.

I kind of like the indoor soccer concept. Never played it myself, though.

I don't think regular soccer should be changed, however. People that like watching it will, and others won't. If I was an advertiser, I'd hate it . . . witness the lack of interest in the current World Cup. That alone will make it a second-tier sport in the U.S.

As far as physical conditioning goes, if I was a parent (and living in a perfect world) I'd want my kids playing soccer, if only to prepare them for the sport of their choice.