[Jagger]

Well, since I'm from England originally there's little doubt what my answer will be. I'm a huge Liverpool FC fan and was a season ticket holder for years.

I don't believe the majority of North Americans understand the game. It's not part of their culture. Elsewhere in the world people live and die for their footy team. It is hugely important to the quality of their lives, moreso than following teams over here it seems. If anybody has the chance to attend a Liverpool vs Manchester United game at Anfield in Liverpool they should do so. You would then get a taste for the passion and intensity that these two hated rivals have. The atmosphere is second to none. I have literally left Anfield, in the good old days of the standing Kop, with complete ringing in my ears, not being able to hear for a few hours.

With that said, I'm sure baseball, gets pretty much the same rap. If you are not brought up around the game then it means little to you. Being English, baseball is pretty much like the game "rounders" in England. That's a girl's sport! Men play cricket. Now there's a sport that North Americans understand less than soccer.

That's the real debate: Cricket or baseball?


Edit: Oh yeah, I hate diving too. It's been a pet peeve of mine for years. You never saw much of it for quite a while in England until they opened up the shores to the Continental players. The only time you saw it back then (70's to early 80's) was when an English team played mainly Italian teams in one of the Euro cups. It was infuriating to watch. Since that time it has become a problem in England too but still less than other parts of the world. FIFA has continued to make statements that they will stamp out such poor sportsmanship but so far that is purely lip service. It does take away from the game for sure and I can completely understand why it would put some neutral soccer fans off the sport.