But, back then I was ignorant of its finer points, and even some of its rules. I used to say American football is boring because its just 22 huge dudes slamming into eachother for a few seconds, and then standing around for 45. But, after watching a lot of it in my adult life, and playing some Madden on the x-box, I now appreciate all the strategy that goes into it, and actually find the time they spend "lining up" to be really exciting. Trying to figure out what sort of play a team is going to run before the snap can be half the fun. In American football the coaches play a bigger role on game day than in any other sport, often calling every play rather like a general directing troops.

"Soccer" is the opposite. Of all the major sports, it is the most free flowing. No time outs, limited substitutions, and rare scores mean that the game is usually moving. But, in order to be successful a team must remain coordinated and disciplined. The beauty of soccer to me can be summed up by the phrase "organized chaos."

IMO, Americans who try to site objective reasons that soccer is obviously boring are simply ignorant, just as I was ignorant of American football. You didn't grow up watching it and, like Sarah Palin, you've only really seen it played by kids. If you just focus on the soccer ball, and ignore the movements of the other players, I'm sure it can look like a bunch of kids chasing a ball. But if you appreciate how organized the players have to be, without the aid of timeouts and scripted plays, and how hard it is to quickly control a ball with your feet, then soccer is absolutely as exciting as any other sport.

This really should not be surprising, because ignorant Americans like Palin genuinely believe that everyone else in the world loves a boring sport and that, by implication, they are not as smart or as competitive as Americans. What a load of bunk!

I'm glad you have seen the light.