My First Taste of the World Cup

Like most American sports fanatics, I’ve always thought of soccer as being a bit foreign to me. (No pun intended.) I’ve casually played soccer with friends or at camp but Baseball has always been my sport to play and Basketball and Football my sports of choice to watch. So like every other red-blooded American I’ve kept a professional distance between futbol and myself. This is how I saw soccer.

Lately, I’ve had a bit of a change of heart. I’ve slowly become more and more interested in the sport and have been doing my research. I know that the number of American’s that are interested in soccer are steadily increasing and to most soccer fans I’m just one more American jumping on the bandwagon. But I don’t care too much. I’ve been excited about the World Cup and couldn’t wait for it to start today.

So starting today I hope to write a little more about soccer. I set my alarm this morning and woke up early…and I’m on vacation. That never happens. That rarely happens when I’m at home. But I woke up and watched South Africa and Mexico battle it out and the result be a draw. What!? The game was tied at the end of regulation…and that was it. It ended. Tie game. That confused the mess out of me. I’m not used to sports that end in a draw. But I think I can get used to it. (I know the big games will have a clear winner.)

Another thing that confused me was the fact that I was confused as to who I should cheer for. And it really did take me a hot minute to realize I was American. I was doing my research and reading up on the teams trying to find one that I could identify with; then I realized that these are countries not just teams. I felt rather foolish because cheering on your country is one of the best parts of the World Cup. Please forgive me Coach Bombay and Team USA from the Mighty Ducks 2, I have not forsaken the lessons of nationalism you have taught me. So don’t worry, I’m not a terrorist, I am cheering on USA (although I can’t stand Landon Donovan). But I do have some other countries I will be rooting for of course.

So here I am. After day one of the World Cup still trying to figure out exactly what I should be doing to correctly watch this awesome event. I shall keep you updated and if I ever find myself with enough knowledge or even a barely strong opinion I’ll give you my thoughts/predictions. Here’s to the WC and the awesomeness (or at least intrigue) of soccer.