Every four years, the World Cup of Soccer comes around, and I get hooked. During the 47 months in between World Cups, I won't watch a full minute of soccer (though I'm not sure when I'd get a chance to), but during this upcoming month, I'll watch just about everything that's on tv.

I can see why Americans don't like it much. We tend to like, you know, instant gratification. Short bursts of action, and lots of them. A lot of scoring. Hence the popularity of basketball and football (and the homerun). Hence the declining popularity of baseball, and the utter lack for soccer.

I think that's what I like about soccer and baseball though. They're both largely about finess and patience. I like how the anticipation builds more and more because the scoring is often so slow in developing. I like how the players will work and strategize so hard in order to earn themselves a remote chance at scoring.

Plus, I'm convinced that soccer players are tougher than football players any day. I saw three guys taken out on a stretcher on the first day of competition.

The fans are sort of cool, too.

Plus, there's that whole underdog thing. Ecuador beat Poland. Trinidad & Tobago tied Sweden (Poland and Sweden are near powerhouses).

So anyway, I guess I like soccer. That's my point.