Soccer is a true world sport. Almost all countries in the world play soccer. The rules are pretty universal. Are winners of the Super Bowl (American Football) or World Series (Baseball) really “World Champions?” One can answer yes if their world only includes the USA and Canada. The World Cup is a true World Championship game.
To the rest of the world, soccer is not just a sport, but a culture. Many times, this is a like a friendly “war” between countries. It’s a sport that can bring the world together. Soccer fans are also the most hardcore in the world. There aren't too many sports that can incite riots win or lose.
I’ve recently had to educate some people on why they don’t see these soccer fans throughout the year. I told them that the World Cup was every four years. It’s much like the Olympics. You don’t hear much about it during the downtime between events, but you hear a lot when it nears.
I am glad though that there are more soccer fans today in the USA than there were in years past. 12 years ago, I was the only American in a big group of students who hailed from Argentina, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Japan, Korea, China, and more who would spend the night at the school to watch the World Cup matches happening on the other side of the world.
Im from Texas, and soccer had always been a rather large sport there. Granted its not in the less league of the others here, but there are far more fans then you might imagine. But would any one cheer a consistent loser on the world stage. I believe this is only the second time the usa has gotten this far. It is hard to like a sport your country has never been able to compete in
I've always played since I was a kid. It's always surrounded me. Soccer has been looked down on. Maybe that's why we don't have many "good" players. Now that we have a glimmer of hope and a taste of the finals, interest in the sport may be fostered and we can enter the ranks of the rest of the world.
Im 48, and we always played soccer, prob more then anything else in elementary school. But the money is in the others. Lots of good soccer players ended up playing football