Brazilian reasons to love soccer

Yes, I was rooting for the United States, of course, but I just can't pass up a pun. I recognize this as a weakness.

Regardless of who won, that game between the U.S. and Brazil yesterday in the Confederations Cup final was quite a thrill. For those who don't know, the Americans, who had upset Spain to get to the final, were a heavy underdog against the Brazilians, but scored twice in the first half, leading to a 2-0 advantage at the break. It was an ominous sign when Brazil scored just a minute or so into the second half, and they did go on to vanquish the upstarts from the Northern Hemisphere, 3-2. But it sure was fun to see our countrymen hang in there like that in a game that is about our sixth or seventh most popular sport.

Think about this: Generally speaking, if you're a good athlete growing up in the States, not only are you more likely to play the big three team sports (baseball, football or basketball), you might be almost as likely to play golf, tennis or hockey as soccer. Sure, a lot of kids play more than one sport, and soccer's more popular among the generation born in the '80s and '90s than it is with my generation, but there still aren't too many kids playing soccer in this country. In Brazil, which has a population about the same size as the United States', each child is given a soccer ball at birth and kicks it constantly for the rest of his or her life.

I admit I'm not all that familiar with the structure of international soccer, so I didn't realize until after the game that every single soccer-playing nation on earth was eligible to win this tournament. The U.S. came in second. That, right there, is the highest point in the history of American soccer. Savor it, folks.