OK, a couple of caveats first.
I am a major sports fan.
I admire the endurance, athleticism and think-on-your-feet skill of soccer players.
But as a sport, soccer puts me to sleep.
I have difficulty being enthusiastic about a sport where almost every initiative- advancing the ball down the field, attempting a shot on goal - leads to failure. Almost constant failure.
To me, there's nothing exciting about watching a scoreless tie, or even a 1-0 game. At least in baseball, a 1-0 game is likely to have some artistry involved- the pitcher constantly out-thinking the batter by varying the speed and repertoire.
I also don't care too much for the fact that in soccer, players are denied the full use of their bodies to advance the ball. With the exception of tossing the ball inbounds,you cannot throw the ball.
I also don't like the fact that so many Americans glom on to soccer because they want to be seen as more in sync with the European continental consciousness than our own. The same elitist attitude in cheese and wine.
The truth, at least for me, is that things rarely happen in soccer.
Give me a sport where something happens. The poetic mesh of a basketball fast break. The man vs. his machine, other machines and the elements in competitive cycling and auto racing. A cut fastball that grabs a tiny part of home plate, just above the kneees. A finely executed end run off left tackle in football.
American football. Our football. Not that dull sport the world seems to love.