Please excuse me if I gave the wrong impression. I understand what you’re saying, that nationalism drives the interest in the World Cup games. I didn’t think you were saying anything else.
I looked at that book you recommended and I’m going to get it since, as it turns out, baseball is the only sport that I enjoy and I’m always interested in books on its evolution, and this one really is different in that the author parallels its development with that of soccer. Hmmm.
It was nice of you to pass this information along.
(I'm a baseball fan, too).
Oh, just buy a used copy. No need to drop $20. ;)