Americans, like practically everybody else, have gone a little World Cup crazy. As a lifelong soccer nut, and a naturalized American citizen, I welcome this development—and readily admit that I didn’t see it coming. Like most U.S. soccer fans, I’ve been conditioned to think of the sport as a minority interest. Twenty years ago, when the World Cup was held in the United States, it attracted big crowds, and Team U.S.A. played well, progressing from the group stage before losing to Brazil, the eventual winner. But the mainstream media, and most of the population, treated the event as a curiosity rather than as something to get exercised about. Now, although the tournament is being held three thousand miles away, things are different.
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