worldinabag, there'll be lots of deeply conflicted Italian-Australians, just as there seemed to be lots of deeply conflicted Croatian-Australians earlier today. Especially with names like Viduka, Bresciano and Aloisio on the Oz team. Still, maybe you can gain some satisfaction whichever way it goes.

I guess this discussion shows that, we are what we've been exposed to, what's been marketed to us, etc.

Actually, I like the game. Kids played it when growing up. I find the excitement of the tourney that arises in the fans is as interesting as the game.

EK

Normally I don't like sports. But soccer is interesting to me.
Like hernanc2002 said, "it's easy to understand." I don't want to spend a lot of time learning the rules of a game I'm not going to personally participate in and I don't care about stats.
And the best thing about soccer; it's quick. It doesn't seem to go on forever. I just hate that about other sports.

As a sport I find it dull, but as an Australian I reserve the right to jump, scream and shout in support of Aussies playing anything ( even that dreadfull synchronized swimming !!!) If its green and gold I want them to win and I will watch and support them. I love the quote from Bruce Arena the U.S. soccer coach who said the two easy beats at the world cup this year will be Australia and Trinidad !! Hey Bruce how did your team go ???????

Yes, Marko - the biggest frustration for the Australian side must be that they didn't have the satisfaction of playing Bruce Who's lads.

This subject appears to generate a lot of heat and very little light.

All I would say the the yankee naysayers on football is try to find yourself in a country taking part in either the World Cup. European Cup, Copa Libratadores etc during the knockout part of the tournaments. You will soon see that it takes over the daily life of those countries.

England is a sea of St George’s flags at the moment – and there are over 100,000 Englishmen in Germany right now. The same would be true in Holland (which turns orange every two years), Italy, Brazil, Argentina etc.

If you are a semi-detached participant you will never really get to grips with it.

If all those people out there had ever witnessed a game of Australian Rules football (100 minutes of fierce, hands on, no offside play) there would be no further support for soccer with its boring-scoring routine.

But as heaps and heaps of money has been invested in soccer, and as Australian Rules is known only to 10 million aficionados here in Oz, we will have to continue to endure the boredom.

Harzer

Aussie rules – a game played by men in skin tight clothes and refereed by butchers. It’s not going to catch on outside a rather *specialised* market.

>>sort of like watching some guys playing "catch" for 98 percent of the game

No, more like keep-away

what a fascinating thread....arguing over whose sport is better using cliches that have been repeated over and over for decades...

football/soccer is boring, american football is wimpy because pads are worn, baseball is really called rounders and is a girls' game, cricket is boring and the games last too long, etc, etc, etc.

instead, why don't we just tell each other back and forth that the other drives "on the wrong side of the road". that would be about as trite as this discussion.

Really, I couldn't care less if Americans think soccer is boring. We are having a ball down here in Brazil, getting ready to win the World Cup for the sixth time...

Brazilnut - the cup is going to South America, but it's not going to Brazil - it's going to your best friends

No, no the cup is going to Australia where it rightfully belongs - all we need is some decent referees

schuler - are you watching????
Hopp Schwyz!

Yes, I am! 1:0. My kids are going wild. And Alain Sutter is still good looking. I just found out that he's a good friend of my cousin.

Did you see the goal? It was so exciting! The Swiss first butted the ball into net and then got butted by a South Korean. A bloody mess around the nose but no serious injury.

Oh no, Philipp broke his arm. Who said soccer wasn't a rough sport?

Will you all stop using the word 'soccer' already!
It's called football for crissake and yes it is boring. Try watching an England game and staying awake...zzzzz....

Are the English having a bad day in football?

Switzerland 2
South Korea: 0
We're in the 81st minute.

I think one has to appreciate the nuances of the game, the ball handling, those kinds of skills. I find that really amazing, however, I sort of equate it to the classic pitchers duel in baseball, "yawn"...wake me up when it's over. I'm glad to see it becoming more popular in America for young kids to play. Great exercise, helps develope co-ordination, and it's not as hard on young bodies like Pop Warner Football and gymnastics. I think eventually we will see a lot more interest in soccer (football) in the US.