Soccer, to me...

In a couple of hours I will turn my attention to the World Cup and watch the Americans play their game against Portugal.  This year I have tried to educate myself a little bit more about the game itself but having a hard go of it since I’m basically not all that interested.  It’s only USA, USA patriotism that has me interested and if the American team does not advance I will probably drop the whole effort like the lukewarm rock it is for me.  I know that futbal is the most popular sport in the world by far; but my beginnings, and now my endings (obviously), do/did not include it.  Growing up in a small mid-San Joaquin Valley town in California I don’t think I ever even saw a soccer ball, much less kicked one around.  It was not a participatory option in the schools I attended, from grammar school right through college.  So I think I can be forgiven for being an outsider, even after all this time.  Also, it seems like for at least the last 30 years soccer has been touted as the next big thing in U.S sports but, hey, it just never happens.  Unless the American men can reach the professional level of other countries we are still not ready.

After consulting with a soccer aficionado I now understand "stoppage time" but that doesn't mean I have to like it.  It's definitely a Say What? rule for me.  Every sport I've ever played (or observed, for that matter) everybody knows how much time is left in the game and play is adjusted accordingly.  In soccer nobody knows except one referee and it looks to me like even he isn't sure.  Say what?

And another thing, just like other “American” sports now, most teams are so multinational you really do need a scorecard, if not a translator on name pronunciation.  What we need is an influx of foreign talent on a par with what’s going on in hockey and basketball and baseball.  Then maybe soccer can reach some level of sustainable interest beyond a World Cup every four years.