[torquinus]

As and expat who couldn't get football or baseball for years, I adopted “soccer” as a spectator sport about 10 years ago. It's actually an amazingly great game, and given that there are national leagues on par with each other across continents, it makes for great world cup interest. Local becomes global.

But it's like cream corn, if you don't like it don't consume it, but for cryin’ out loud what's the point of going on and on about not likin’ cream corn? Just turn the stuff off if you don't like it.

[dfwgator]

I think now with the emergence of Fox Soccer Channel and ESPN’s embrace of soccer, as well as the presence of the Internet, it’s much easier today for Americans to stay on top of game, as it happens in Europe. You can follow the English Premier League, just as anyone in England.

I remember the days when the only way for Americans to get English football scores was to listen to the BBC World Service on Shortwave.

[kabar]

Agree completely. For some reason, there are people who view soccer’s universal popularity as some sort of threat. They rail on and on about how much they hate the sport and find it boring and unamerican. World Cup threads bring them out to gainsay the popularity of the sport and to ridicule those who enjoy watching the “Beautiful Game.”