kivlehan was not a soccer fan just as recent as 2 years ago - before the 2006 world cup. You would have been crazy if you thought kivlehan was going to become a soccer.
Let me tell you kivlehan, there was a time when we weren’t able to see as much of the great game here in the United States. I remember in 1990 the World Cup was taking place in Italy and the United States had qualified for the first time in many years. My family never had cable tv before that summer. A bunch of the games were going to be shown on TNT of all channels. That was the deciding factor in my family getting cable tv - we had to watch the USA in the World Cup.
Things were different back then. The roster of US players was mostly college guys that were not playing top level professional soccer. There was no MLS. Our guys went over there and got spanked by Czechoslovakia - not Too dissimilar to the 2006 World Cup that you are familiar with. Then there was a tight game vs Italy (that one we lost) and another close loss - but back then it was Austria rather than Ghana.
Commercials were still a part of the TV broadcast. I remember watching one of Italy’s game coming back from a commercial to see a replay of a goal. That is a great system they have now to remove commercials! If I remember correctly I think there were 3 goals scored during commercial time at that world cup. But remember not every game was shown like they do today.
Four years later the World Cup was coming to the United States. We got tickets to see all 4 games in Detroit. Seeing a World Cup game live is something that everyone should be able to do before they die. I don’t think any other sporting event can compare. I’ve never been to the olympics (which might be close) - but the rest of the big sports in the US can’t compare. This time our guys were prepared a little better. We had a few players that made their way into the top leagues in Europe, but it was just a small handful at the time still.
Today I have hope that I’ll see the United States actually win a World Cup someday. It may not be for a long time, but I remain hopeful. So I’m glad I could read about your journey to becoming a soccer fan. I hope that you too (and everyone out there) gets to experience a World Cup game day. Especially if you get to see your own country play in that World Cup.