Maybe Americans shouldn't be watching soccer.

We must have been watching different matches. The USA were the definite underdogs going into the match, but they held their own and the score was 0-0 after normal time. Even after going 2-0 they rallied and got one back, and nearly scored an equaliser.

Tim Howard was clearly man of the match, and it's obvious why the Toffees want to keep hold of him.

Really, when I have been in bars during the Superbowl I've always admired the cool analytic approach fans for both teams employ. In fact every time the team you are not rooting for clobbers they one you are, fans buy drinks for the opposing teams fans and shake hands, pat them on the back and congratulate them for being superior.

Enough with the sarcasism, it's well known that Pro Football fans get incredibly hostile with fans of the team they are opposing. My cousin and her husband have season tickets for the Ravens, but during playoffs out in California, the other teams fan were so hostile, they had to watch the remainder of the games in their hotel room. Actually, it could have been Texas, I don't know because I don't like the Ravens and can't get any satisfaction or huge Maryland ego lifts when they play.

Watch Duke play the Tarheels, they are rabid rivals, but the games are fun especially since Duke usually has some novel ideas for crowd stunts. Ok, I'm amused but not mr. GB, that's where he did his under grad work and bleeds Carolina blue. If UNC loses, he gets pretty miserable, but only during March Madness. If Duke eliminates UNC, he switches his support to anybody playing Duke, even Maryland. But that how some sports fans are.

Take Edgar's advice, pick another team while you wallow in your superior knowledge of soccer. Eventually all those unworthy US fans will figure it out. Then you can be happy again.

One other question, when US fans cheer for their countries teams/athletes during the Olympics, is that naked nationalism?

But if you did, most people would just say "wow, that guy likes his wine" and laugh it off, especially if everyone was having a good time. Only the wine snob would get totally bent.

If it gives you hope, I will relate this story. I told my 11 year old, soccer playing daughter that Tim Howard had 16 saves and she immediately said, "Wow, the defense really broke down."

Belgium dominated for most of the match. Belgium made 38 shots during this game, 27 of them were on target. The US made 14 shots, 9 of them were on target.

Tim Howard was clearly man of the match. But, when your goalie is man of the match, it doesn't say much about the performance of the rest of the team.

In bars during the Superbowl, you don't have home town fans erupting in cheers when their quarterback is sacked.

People in the US just simply go out to have fun while watching a game --- yes there are the serious ones that know all the stats; nuances; strategy, etc. But the majority just go to be a part of these big games for the social fun of it. Think superbowl and those "fans"that rather watch the commercials than the actual game. I remember back over 10 years ago when the Pats were in it and we were the underdog. Girls are yelling cutie at the Brady and Adam V. hoping screaming cutie over and over at the cute players would help for positive results --- well it did.

I went to a Celtics game and saw this guy I recongized with this girl all dolled up, short skirt high heels - completely wrong for a sporting event; they come in late and didn't stay to long. The guy asked me how many quarters there were in a basketball game. To me it was more annoying that he didn't realize that quarters mean 4 rather than any of the basics of basketball. People complain about pink red sox hats at Fenway --- can't be a real fan just want to look good; there is always those fair weather fans, but so what.

So what -- why can't people just have simple fun? And you have the advantage of laughing quietly and realize how superiour you are than them.

some plays are obvious others not so much --- I have seen/heard people cheer at the wrong time in the superbowl and ask is that good, etc.

Here's one sign of progress. When I first got interested in soccer (some
twenty or so years ago), you would have driven around all day just looking
for a bar showing the match.

That's funny, sometimes I have to drive around to find a pub that isn't showing a game.

No and that's a fairly condescending question posed by someone who pretty clearly believes it isn't too nuanced for him.

American football is every bit as complex as soccer and, arguably, more so. If you don't have your attention focused solely on the ball, and most American fans don't, there is no shortage of nuance to the game.

While the popularity of soccer is growing here, the average American still has just not watched enough games to appreciate everything that is going on, on the field. I could be wrong, but I doubt that the first time you watched a a game of soccer you appreciated all of the nuance.

This is generalizing I admit, but I've found that American soccer fans tend to exhibit an inflated sense of themselves based on their ability to get the game. It's as if the facts that a) Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, b) It's not very popular in the US and c) They appreciate it, combine to signify that they are not only distinct from their countrymen, they are slightly (or even more so) superior. They alone have been able to tap into the mystery (for other Americans) of the game's global popularity, and it must be due to qualitative difference of thinking or perception.

Interestingly enough I have not found this to be the case with most of my European friends and acquaintences. They have been happy to explain the nuance of the game to American novices, and while some Yanks in the room still don't think it ranks up there with other sports, it's not because the finer points have sailed over their heads.

I can't imagine the sport ever being as popular here as it is around the world for several reasons, but not being able to appreciate nuance isn't one of them.

And as for your experience at the bar, you just have a hair across your ass about Usians cheering USA USA USA!

You're probably lucky you kept it to yourself, because people cheering for their national team in a global competition; while drinking numerous pints usually don't have much of a tolerance for smug condescension.

My real gripe is toward the loud ignorant people who have clearly not made any effort to learn anything about the game. They were clearly only there for a hyper-nationalistic shouting session.

The Americans who have taken the time to learn a little about how the game works don't bother me so much.

Well loud ignorant nationalism is a starting point to bring American's back down to Earth when it comes to sports...

You may not have been in bars that have developed a clientele of regulars on Sundays during football seasons.

Sure there's lots of cheering and cursing and, for the most part, good natured ribbing between the fans of different teams, but there's also a lot of "analytics" going on (sometime too much).

With so many TVs on the walls and plenty of down time, there are always opportunities to offer opinions on every aspect of the game, in any game.

Wherever I've lived, I've gone to the same bar every week to watch the games, and it's always been the same. A lot of people watching football, cheering their team, cursing their team, kidding around and talking football.

You're absolutely right about how rabid some rivalries are but it's always seemed to me that this is more pronounced at the location of the game. I think it may have something to do with tribalism and a sense of territoriality. I'm sure the drinking helps but home team fans seem to, generally, have less tolerance for the fans of the opposing team who invade their turf, than if members of both groups were in a bar together. It doesn't help either that the visiting fans who make the most noise are often jack-asses. You have to have had a lot to drink and be pretty aggressive to draw attention to yourself in enemy territory.

If I'm a visiting fan, I'll cheer for my team's successes but I keep quiet about the home team's failures. Unless in a place like Philly where they boo Santa Clause and have jail cells in the stadium, this strategy usually works. Rubbing it in with a home fan when their team screws up or just plain sucks, is asking for a fight.

I'll admit I'm a fan who not only loves my teams, but hates others. I enjoy hating the Redsox, the Flyers, the Cowboys and the Lakers. It's a harmless way to hate, and probably emotionally healthy in a strange way. I don't want their players to die in plane crashes of course, I just want them to always lose, and badly, but with rare exception, if one of them ends up on one of my teams, they're deserving of love.

Sport is great on many levels, and there is no way a game like soccer could be loved by so many people if it wasn't a great one. It may eventually catch on really big here, but it's no big deal if it doesn't. I'm sure the people who make money on the game want to see the American soccer market grow, but if it doesn't, it isn't going to hurt the game. It doesn't need us.

Have you been taking George Will pills, Finn?

All that matters is the result, and 0-0 after normal time is a pretty good result for the underdog.

Better those emotions are vented at a sporting occasion instead of going to war.

Well then....

Woo Hoo! Yee Haaahhhhhhhh! USA! USA! USA!

In the premiership lots of teams dominate a match then get caught on the break and lose.

Your football team did themselves proud, they showed real tenacity and a work ethic that we could have done with a bit of.