The Dapper Lad

Here’s the thing: we like soccer. Not in the way Mexicans or Europeans like soccer – but it’s a “we- understand- why- this- is- so- huge- in- the- rest- of- the- world” sort of appreciation. In fact, we even attended an LA Galaxy game recently. (True this was actually our wife’s idea, whom we suspect wanted to go only to see David Beckham in shorts, but still – we stayed for the whole thing, which is more than we can say for most baseball games.)

Every four years we watch the World Cup, but our knowledge of the World Cup begins and ends…with the World Cup. It’s the same way a non-football fan watches the Super Bowl: to attend a party with friends or tune in for the ironic commercials. We like being part of the World Cup as a global phenomenon; getting caught up in nationalistic pride; knowing the whole globe is sharing in the same spectacle. But beyond that—we don’t know how teams make it to the World Cup, or why certain matches are important. We feel like the rest of the world has this secret, and damn it! We want in.

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