Hi. Some points to consider about the Futbol (aka soccer) vs. other sports debate:

1. I remember reading somewhere something about cultural factors affecting Futbol's (aka Soccer's) popularity. The article pointed out 2 main points:

a. Scoring: US fans like big scores. For them 0-0 doesn't make it, they need to read at least double digits to get excited, as well as see scoring multiple times. That also explains why hockey isn't that popular after all.

Now, before you say, how about baseball?

b. Statistics: US fans LOVE statistics. Futbol is not a stats-friendly sport, unlike baseball or football. That hasn't helped futbol increase its popularity.

2. A word about playtime:

I've always said that I think futbol players have it harder than basketball or American football players. Think of this:

Am. Football: 60 minutes of actual play; basketball: 48 minutes; futbol: 90 minutes.

In addition: football and basketball have time outs, so there's time when ALL players can stay still... futbol only gets a "time out" when a player is injured (of course, one can argue that some players feign injuries to have such time outs).

Now, basketball and football have unlimited substitutions; futbol only gives you 3. Football has about 60-80 players on a roster, and 22 players on the field (unlike say rugby, where all players must attack or defend). If you think about it, a football player might only spend between 30-45 minutes of actual playing time, and they don't have to run up and down the field, like futbol or basketball players.

3. One final thing to add to this discussion is the actual value of playing for your country, as is the case of the FIFA World Cup:

In most countries, athletes are trained to believe that the biggest HONOR there is is to make it to the national team, regardless of the sport. In futbol, aside from making it to the big leagues (Italy, England, Spain), going to the World Cup remains as the largest honor for these athletes. That explains why players in the Liga Espanola, Serie A or the Premier League or Bundesliga are so into going to the World Cup: It's not so much about the money as it is the honor to represent their countries.

The US athlete, on the other hand, does not grow up with that mentality. For them, it's all about making it to the NBA, NFL, MLB, etc. In fact, there's no honor in making it to the national team in ANY sport. Just think about, for example, how NBA players are so nonchalant about the Olympics. In fact, it is reported that NBA owners have objected to their international athletes representing their home countries in international competition. After all, they're in the NBA, what else could they want in life? National pride? Who cares!

Also, look at the recent World Baseball Classic: Major leaguers from Venezuela, Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico were ecstatic about playing for their countries; US players? Many didn't play because God forbid they break a nail and lose their MLB contracts.

That's why there's such little interest in the World Cup... Most US athletes, at least in the major sports, don't have that sense of national pride that futbol players still have. For them, it is REALLY all about the Benjamins!

Of course, we need to add to the equation the apparent disregard for the rest of the world that the average US citizen seems to have. That kind of reminds me about a comment I watched today on "The Colbert Report": Stephen Colbert pointed out how the "World Cup" seems to be the only sports event where "World" actually includes other countries than the US, as opposed to the "World Series" or the NBA "World Champions".