I was living overseas for both the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, so this is my first World Cup in the US since 1998. A few days into this World Cup, it's been interesting to see what has changed in the US in the last 12 years, and also what has changed since I saw my first World Cup here in 1986. A few observations:

1. In general, there is much more interest in, and even excitement about, the World Cup now than there used to be. I've actually been amazed at how much how much media interest/coverage there is, how many Americans watch both US and non-US matches, how many care about what happens in it, and how many want to talk about it around the proverbial water cooler. While the World Cup is not the Super Bowl or the BCS, it definitely isn't the cricket world cup or even the French Open anymore.

2. The "soccer sucks" crowd is still alive and well, especially on sports talk radio, but it seems like they are more vocal now than they were in the 1990s and before. In the past, they mostly just ignored it. Now, it seems like they talk about it way more, and expend much more energy explaining why it sucks, ripping on people who don't think it sucks, and complaining about how it's being "rammed down their throats" by the likes of ESPN. Honestly, my main impression is that they feel more threatened by it than they did in 1998 or 1986, at least those who make a living talking about sports (e.g. sports talk radio bozos). I certainly never hear those people bashing rugby, cricket, lacrosse, or even tennis...

3. There is a close correlation between age and attitude toward soccer and the World Cup. Those over 45 are mostly bashers, while people under 35 seem to be much less negative on the sport. I'm guessing this is a product of many things, including that more of the younger people actually played and understand the game, their kids play it, the fact that they experienced the 1994 World Cup in the US, and the increased availability of soccer news & programming via internet and satellite TV.

4. Soccer-bashers love to say that they've been hearing their whole lives that soccer was a growing sport in the US, and that nothing has changed over the years. Anybody who really believes this is either incredibly unobservant, very thick, or they view the world only through heavily-tinted goggles that only feed their biases. To wit:

- In 1986, I had to watch most of the World Cup with headphones at the BYU library, in the AV section of the foreign language area. That was the only place I could watch most games in Provo, in a small cubicle on a tiny screen, since only a small handful of games were shown on cable TV. Sports pages of newspapers carried almost no World Cup news. Even when the US qualified for the first time in forever in 1990, there was very little TV coverage, and even the US games were mainly on then-obscure cable stations (TNT, IIRC). Now there is saturation coverage of the event, with every game broadcast in HD in multiple languages, with decent English-language play-by-play commentators and studio hosts, and we can even watch some run-of-the-mill non-US games (like Germany-Australia yesterday) on major network TV.

- In 1986 (and 1990 & 1994, for that matter), professional soccer didn't really exist in the US. Now Major League Soccer (MLS) is an established, expanding league with many soccer-specific stadiums (which were a pipe dream in the '80s and early '90s) and a decent core of followers. It will never be the NFL, but it's much more than we had in 1994, and it may well give the NHL a run for its money before too long.

- As of the 1986 World Cup, the US hadn't qualified for a World Cup since 1950, mostly because of lack of talent -- I don't believe there were any Americans playing in European leagues at the time. We were a weakling in the CONCACAF region and lost regularly to the likes of Canada, El Salvador, and Honduras, never mind Mexico. Now, this is our 5th consecutive World Cup appearance, including a quarterfinal appearance in 2002. We are a dominant team in the CONCACAF region and produce some of the best talent in the region (thanks largely to all those soccer moms), and there are quite a few Americans playing in major European leagues. Losing to Canada or El Salvador is now a big deal, and missing out on the World Cup would be almost unthinkable. And we even beat one of the best teams around (Spain) last year in a major tournament.

- As I mentioned earlier, there is no comparison between 1986 and 2010 in terms of Americans' awareness of and interest in the World Cup. In 1986, it was almost impossible to have a conversation about the World Cup or international soccer with any American who had not lived overseas, or whose parents were not recent immigrants. There was simply no awareness of (let alone interest in) the sport. Today, millions of Americans are interested in the World Cup and the sport, and it is hard to avoid the subject (for example, I've had to stay away from certain co-workers and radio stations today, so I can watch the games on DVR semi-"live" when I get home). More Americans have purchased tickets to the 2010 World Cup than residents of any other country, besides the host nation. We're enough of a player in the sport that the US is the favorite to host the 2022 World Cup, which would be its second one in less than 30 years. Twenty-four years ago, I never thought any of this would happen during my lifetime.