GOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!

Well, it's not the Olympics, but it does happen every four years. The Fifa World Cup, being played in Germany this time, has been under way for a week now, and this writer, at least, couldn't be happier. For most of the world, this is the Olympics. Contrary to what must people in the US think, Football is not the most popular sport in the world. Futball is. While we idolize athletes like Derek Jeter, Michael Vick, and Shaq, around the world, men like David Beckham (England), Ronaldinho (Brazil), and Ronaldo (Brazil), are known and recognized everywhere they go.
While US Soccer has grown in leaps and bounds over the last 4 years since our good showing at the 2002 World Cup, we're still not anywhere near the level as England, Germany, and Brazil. People talk about how much money some of the athletes in our sports make, but it's nothing compared to what these athletes are paid to play the most popular sport in the world. To put it in perspective, when David Beckham was sold to Real Madrid, the price tag was in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
While it seems obvious that the US is going to be eliminated from Group play by the end of the week, I want to applaud ESPN and ABC for commiting to cover the entire tournament without commercial interruption. In a sport where there are no time outs, even for injuries, it's nice to know that we won't have to miss a potentially game-changing play because of a beer commercial.
So, grab a beer, find a comfortable chair, and join me in watching the greatest game on Earth. GOOOOAAAAALLLLL!