Gooooooooal!

The World is cup crazy.

We're crazy for the World Cup.

Or, the World Cup is crazy.

Any way you slice it, everybody in the entire world is going bananas for soccer right now.

That is, everybody but Americans.

Oh sure, we all like to pretend that we are getting into it a little bit more every time the big tournament rolls around. And I would say that is true. However, getting a little bit more into it each time doesn't really mean that much if we never really were that into it in the first place.

Yes, its progress.  But when progress is this darn small, how can anyone even count it?

Its sold as a global event:  Everybody's Doing It!
And as a chance for peace:  Nation and Relation-Building At Its Best!

But I think at the heart of our people, The American People, neither of these ways of selling a soccer tournament are going to work.

We need to see how its going to benefit us personally.  Is our team better than every other team so that we can brag about it to the rest of the world?  Can't we just drag it out into a tournament that occurs every year for weeks and weeks on end so that we can sell as much television commercial time as possible?  Can we get The Hoff and Simon Cowell to be the broadcasters of every match?

I think the more it fits into our way of doing things, the more it moves away from why the World Cup appeals to everybody else in the first place.

Its quite a booted soccer catch-22.

However, a couple of things popped into my head over the past couple of days that makes me think there might be a glimmer of hope.

One is an amazing commercial (more like a mini-film) that Nikeh as put out to be played during World Cup matches as well as news recaps, game analysis, etc.  Its stunningly beautiful.  Enough to make me actually want to watch some country that I've never heard of play against some other country that I'm not supposed to 'like' in a game that I totally don't get.  Check it:

http://www.examiner.com/x-24394-Kobe-Bryant-Examiner~y2010m5d20-2010-FIFA-World-Cup-Nike-Write-the-Future-commercial-featuring-Kobe-Bryant

Nike is headquartered in my hometown.   But that's not why I love this commercial.  I think its a brilliant mix of how the rest of the world loves soccer with things Americans can relate to such as Kobe and Homer.

Plus, its got hot guys.

And that's the other way World Cup soccer is going to finally click in America.

Somebody's going to make it trendy.  And that's going to make it hot.  And then that's going to make it cool.

And I think that's all its going to take. I know you're asking...but who is the trendsetting group of people who will get this ball rolling (pun intended)?  Think about it.  It should be so obvious to you.  Especially in 2010 America where this group has gone through the same exact transformation to coolness.

I'll let Samantha take this one (since she so rightfully points this out on the TV version of Sex and the City:

First its the gays.  Then its the girls.

Watch out Ronaldo.