International sports are interesting, @TwoTankAmin . I enjoy watching international football, and like how it is major outside of India, and China. I taught a member of China's international/Olympic team, and his skills were something. But they don't seem to have that kind of entertainment culture. India and Pakistan are into the unfathomable cricket game.
I wouldn't participate regularly in a thread on the NFL or the NBA (awful games to me). I wouldn't start one on hockey, though I find it easy and enjoyable to watch. Cricket? Nope. Baseball? I drop by that thread, but as an ex extremely low level player, I get the game. I coached a form of it, softball, for years.
I want to learn more about what football leagues are easily available to me. I used to watch the Bundesliga, because they were on a local network for free. I expect to watch some middle level British football league games, with a friend who loves that. Ultimately though, you have to sit in front of a screen for these things, and I'm not good at TV. This World Cup has seen me put in more hours in front of the TV than I've spent for years. It helps that I have a swollen injured ankle and have to stay off it. But the World Cup tournament, in all its corrupt glory, is a lot of fun to watch.
As for the US team only being competitive this year - it's the fourth consecutive round they've gotten this far in the tournament. That's 16 years of competitive. There's been a lot of hype all four of them. CONCACAF has gotten stronger around them, for sure. Canada had its best team yet. They used to get in and go in the first round without ever scoring. So that spices things up with a little rivalry. The red card scandal will make the US team a target for every other team for at least a few years, if they remain good. With the new popularity of the game and the US population and sports budgets, they should remain at the top of the region. I doubt they'll ever displace the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, or baseball, but it's become what a friend of mine calls a "US American" sport.
I wouldn't participate regularly in a thread on the NFL or the NBA (awful games to me). I wouldn't start one on hockey, though I find it easy and enjoyable to watch. Cricket? Nope. Baseball? I drop by that thread, but as an ex extremely low level player, I get the game. I coached a form of it, softball, for years.
I want to learn more about what football leagues are easily available to me. I used to watch the Bundesliga, because they were on a local network for free. I expect to watch some middle level British football league games, with a friend who loves that. Ultimately though, you have to sit in front of a screen for these things, and I'm not good at TV. This World Cup has seen me put in more hours in front of the TV than I've spent for years. It helps that I have a swollen injured ankle and have to stay off it. But the World Cup tournament, in all its corrupt glory, is a lot of fun to watch.
As for the US team only being competitive this year - it's the fourth consecutive round they've gotten this far in the tournament. That's 16 years of competitive. There's been a lot of hype all four of them. CONCACAF has gotten stronger around them, for sure. Canada had its best team yet. They used to get in and go in the first round without ever scoring. So that spices things up with a little rivalry. The red card scandal will make the US team a target for every other team for at least a few years, if they remain good. With the new popularity of the game and the US population and sports budgets, they should remain at the top of the region. I doubt they'll ever displace the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, or baseball, but it's become what a friend of mine calls a "US American" sport.
