I love the World Cup

Originally Published: Jun 18, 2010 8:22 AM CDT

I’m a big fan of the World Cup and it just dawned on me why. I love pulling for underdogs. And I love pulling for the U.S.

And in the World Cup, the U.S. is an underdog!

It has always bothered me a bit that we seem to win everything in the Olympics. The Red, White & Blue is the Yankees of international competition. But not in soccer. In soccer, we are the Devil Raysthe Clippersthe Buffalo Bills.

When the Americans win the gold in basketball I yawn. When we capture the top spot on the track & field podium I politely clap. But if the U.S. ever won the World Cup I’d jump on a horse and ride around the neighborhood like Paul Revere while wearing a Benjamin Franklin wig and singing Yankee Doodle Dandy! It would be the greatest accomplishment a U.S. squad could ever achieve. And there’s a very real likelihood we’ll NEVER see it in our lifetime.

Soccer may be boring to some, but I find the World Cup endlessly fascinating. The pageantry. The nationalism. The vuvuzelas. The British accents. And for a month I get to cheer for the underdogs who happen to play for Uncle Sam.