I've tried to explain before, but I am definitely a soccer convert. If I ever kicked a soccer ball before I went to Brazil it was probably by accident.

But I got a small taste of the bug through osmosis just by hanging out with Brazilians, for whom it's just a way of life.

The thing about soccer is, when you watch it over time you learn to appreciate "close." You learn to appreciate a pass into the box that just misses the advancing striker. You learn to appreciate the shot that goes off the crossbar. You learn to appreciate just how vital that one spectacular save a goalie makes can be

When a game can end 1-0, when you get that 1, it's a rush far bigger than a run in baseball, a touchdown in football, or even a 12-point run in basketball. All of those can be erased fairly easily in those games.

Every goal in soccer is a diamond. So every time you almost get a diamond, you feel it. You get a rush. Soccer is a game of, "that was so close."

I feel no anxiety watching basketball until about the last 5 minutes. In soccer, if a team scores in the first 5 minutes, whether it's my team or the opponent, I'm on the edge of my seat for every close call after that. A 2-0 lead is a massive sigh of relief. But when the opponents makes it 1-1, suddenly everything is at risk.

And while I don't like PK's, I still love the drama. There are few things more dramatic in sports than a penalty kick shootout, even if it is a crappy way to end a game. But...it's entertaining. Every time.

You can like soccer or not, but there is a reason it's the most popular sport in the world. And it's not because the billions who enjoy the sport are stupid. It's because the nuance and importance of every single goal is appreciated by soccer fans and they sit on the edge of their seats waiting for it.

I guess more accurately, soccer fans in the biggest venues don't ever sit. For soccer fans, a match is a rave.

Not trying to convert anyone. Just a little perspective on why even someone like myself, a knuckle dragging American who thought it was stupid until he listened to Brazilians, could become a passionate fan.

And of course if you don't like it, there are buttons on the remote. 😏