I don't watch soccer specifically because it's not a hopeful sport. Not as played in international tournaments, anyway. It's a struggle to stop from being crushed by life...at best you're hoping for a stalemate or the slimmest of victories..there is no optimism in soccer for me...thus...I far it hopelessly boring. Hockey, Lacrosse, Baseball, Football, Tennis, Golf, even Bowling...they all hold some fascination for me that soccer lacks. I think Doc hits the biggest reason I love sports (especially baseball) though, when he talks about seeing the greatness in humanity, even if expressed in ways that aren't universally recognized. What I love about people is that they rarely stop trying to make things better. The world is full of dissatisfied, struggling people who fight hard every day to make things better for themselves and for others. It is in the nature of humanity that we are motivated to progress, to achieve, and to be a great race. This is also why I love science fiction (imaginning the possibilities for our future, seeing the same human themes depicted on a much larger and more fantastic scale, etc). I am basically optimistic about people and it leads me to the desire to study people...how they achieve the great things they do (why I'm a sabermetrician), to study nature (and how we react to it...why I'm a scientist) and to feel proud when my team does something wonderful, even if it's "just a game".