I think you are exaggerating somewhat. Most games do not have a bad referee decision influencing the game.
However, you are partly right. It isn’t a typical American game. The good guys don’t always win. You can be the best and occasionally lose. You can have a terrible referee call that makes you mad. You can have the most possession and best overall stats and still not be the best team.
All this confuses “some” American sports fans, but I have never been one to blame it on the American psyche - as if the Homo Americanus cannot get the game.
I think THIS game today shows what it’s all about. There is hardly another cathartic and emotional outburst in other games. It’s a great feeling and I think Americans do cut it, will cut it and will get better as the decades go on.
Hehehehe...
I don't think I am.
Baseball has 27 outs, for each team. A bad call on one or two rarely directly affects the outcome. Football has around 80 plays a game, and they use video replay. Granted, the pace of the game allows it, and even then the pros haven't managed to implement it as well as the colleges.
That said, I would assume that I am the kind of American that international soccer wants to woo. I WANT to like it as a quality entertainment product, but from what I've seen in this tournament, it has a quite glaring drawback, one that interferes with my enjoyment of it.