Actually the next WBC will be in 2009, and thereafter wil occur every four years (or so I’ve read). Here’s to hoping they’re able to pull it off!

I suggest nothing of the sort, merely that all silly generalizations about sports are just that. I am as much a soccer fan as I am of baseball, football, or candlepin bowling for that matter, so I tend to get irritated when people with little interest in a sport take ill-informed cheap shots at it simply for the sake of doing so (e.g., baseball is boring, football is for mouth-breathers, soccer is “un-American” and full of crybabies, candlepin bowling is inferior to tenpin because the balls and pins are smaller and thus less manly).

Except for golf. All silly generalizations about golf are absolutely true.

Whatever the country or sport, sports and patriotism tend to go hand in hand, as do athletics and the capitalistic spirit. Apparent exceptions to this rule — Cuba and baseball, for instance — only end up upholding it in the end. Where do all of those Cuban pitchers end up, after all?

I don’t understand the point of your post. No one said that soccer players aren’t athletes who are as capitalistic as any American baseball, football, or basketball star, but these same players happily don their native country’s colors in order to compete internationally at the World Cup (and other tournaments) as well — mind you, this is in addition to their regular league schedules.

Contrast this with the myriad baseball players who turned their noses up at participating in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year… until they saw how much fun everyone who *did* commit to it was having, that is! It was a hoot to watch Barry Bonds scramble to try to get on the United States team halfway through the competition, only to have his Johnny-come-lately overtures rejected by coach Buck Martinez.

Euro-weenies, indeed!

There’s No Crying In NASCAR! — Charlotte 1994
Jeff Gordon spent the entire 1993 season playing the role of Kasey Kahne, coming oh-so close to his breakthrough first Cup win over and over again… but coming up short. When he finally did pull into Victory Lane at the end of the ‘94 Coca-Cola 600, he climbed up on the roof of the No. 24 Chevy and did something we had never seen before.
He cried like a baby.

“I still catch grief because of that,” says the man who has added 71 more wins since. “But it was truly how I felt, and I don’t regret it all. Trust me; I wasn’t the only one crying out of happiness that night.”

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/04/bc394149-1c2c-4cc9-87b4-8f697985174f.html

Prague, 14 April 2005 (RFE/RL) — For Italian soccer, it was supposed to be a night of celebration, with Milan’s two teams completing a historic match-up in the quarterfinals of the Champions League on 12 April.

Instead, it was a nightmare.

The referee called off the match in the 73rd minute after disgruntled Inter fans started throwing a barrage of flaming flares onto the pitch, with one of them hitting AC Milan goalkeeper Dida in the shoulder.

What you don’t realize is that Jeff was having “a bit of go” at the girlie game. You are humorless.

Many people in the US enjoyed the World Cup. Ratings were good and it truly seems as if we have turned the corner. And that should scare you. Because the last thing you want is for the US to take the “World” cup challenge seriously. American money, talent and enthusiasm is unbeatable and you know it. Just a friendly warning. The days of delicate flowers prancing around is over.

Not meaning to be condescending, or to lecture, but you do understand that the World Cup is a much, much bigger competition than the Super Bowl or World Series?

And?