IT'S THE BIGGEST THING THE GAME HAS GOING FOR IT:

Is World Cup soccer socialist?: No, and Americans -- especially conservatives -- should embrace soccer as a democratic and meritocratic game. (Daniel Allott, July 10, 2010, CS Monitor)

For one, when you take in a soccer match, though goals may be scarce, you’ll be watching 90 minutes of almost nonstop action (not commercials!).

Let’s compare that with America’s favorite spectator sport, professional football. According to a Wall Street Journal study, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL games is less than 11 minutes. The remainder of the 174 minutes that make-up a typical broadcast are filled with images of players huddling and milling around, images of coaches and referees and, of course, commercials.

Until you attend an NFL game you don't have a great sense of how little happens for three hours.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 10, 2010 4:51 PM