Down and Dirty with the World Cup, and as he’s a resident on the World Cup site, is the perfect person to answer questions. First off, I ask why we’ve seen such a sudden spike in people interested in following and supporting the U.S. Men’s National Team. “In my short life, I have never seen more interest in soccer or the U.S. Men’s National Team in the USA than right now,” he explains, not without a touch of melancholy. “It seems that everyone who can afford it is buying a TV set and tuning in to every match.” After that answer, I’m amazed. It’s been a few years since I took up soccer, but it never occurred to me that not everyone was watching the game. If they were, though, they weren’t really paying attention. Is there some kind of increase in the world of soccer viewers right now? “Yes, since the Brazil game. There has been a total spike of views on Twitter, Facebook, and the web in general. After I see all of this interest and enthusiasm with MLS and the World Cup, I can imagine how many more people will be watching our games.” With all of this new information, I felt like I had to ask about the other big change, the inclusion of Major League Soccer on NBC’s main broadcast. “Oh, it’s definitely a good thing! You won’t find anyone disagreeing with that. We’ve been begging for this for years.” Will you try to get into it as much as possible? “That’s kind of the plan with me. I’ve got some friends that are from that country, and I have a ton of friends that like soccer. The fact that they are getting exposure is big for me.” This is where we veer off to other sports. I ask if he follows other sports he might not know as much about. “I follow a bit of everything, but I’m not that smart about it. My head coach in high school and college was always telling me I was a soccer player who just happened to like basketball and baseball.” Then, I bring up football. “Yeah, the NFL’s on Sunday here in the USA and it’s a big part of their sport. I know there are a lot of Americans that follow a lot of NFL games, but as a country I know very little about it. Maybe some of the people that don’t watch MLS will start watching it because it’s a different sport. After all, it’s in the same league, right?” It seems like the World Cup will bring some fans in for the first time, but they’ll stay for it. They might also be lured into the NFL. “To be honest, I have a hard time believing this will happen,” he says. “A lot of people only want to watch the best sports, and I don’t know that the NFL matches up with that. That’s how it’s always been, though.” I had to clarify a bit with him. “They might enjoy it. That’s all I was saying.” Right, but will they watch? “No, I really doubt it. The best player in the US was named Jim Brown. The NFL isn’t even close. “There are many people that enjoy the world cup. My friends that aren’t fans are now fans. The same way I became a soccer fan during this last couple of weeks. My mom loves it and if she’s even half of how I think she is, we’re gonna be talking about this game for years.” “It could be argued that there’s already a league in the USA that’s popular enough with the general population, and that’s football. There’s already a strong history, and if you want to, you could try to compare the two.” I don’t know if he does, but they’re certainly trying to compare the two. Just in the past week, we’ve seen many examples of MLS comparisons to the NFL. There’s been a new commissioner (Don Garber) who wears suit and tie like an NFL owner. There are mentions of the NFL on their web site. They’re also giving us a lot of reasons why NFL is better. “We have a lot of similarities, but that doesn’t mean they’re gonna be compared.” I also had to ask if the fact that it’s happening in the same league would cause some of the NFL die hards to at least take a look at the US men’s team? “They might, but there’s no way they’ll be convinced by soccer.” He has a point, too. If I said that to you, you’d probably think I was off my rocker. I’m sure he has a million reasons why that’s not going to happen. “There are a lot of similarities, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.” He’s looking forward to the next two matches. “I think those are going to be my two favorite games, against Uruguay and Costa Rica.” Who do you think will win? “Uruguay and Costa Rica.” The fact that he thinks those two teams will win might surprise some. “Why do you think I feel that way?” I ask, but have to admit it’s a mystery to me. “We both had tough starts. Costa Rica had to go in to a penalty kick in the 82nd minute, while Uruguay had to come from behind against Ghana in the Round of 16.” “Now, in theory, Uruguay should have the edge over Costa Rica, but Costa Rica has their pride.” Yes, but is the US really in the game? “Oh yeah. We’re right there. That’s a battle I’m really looking forward to. I think we’re going to win, but I can’t say that for sure.” What will we see on TV? “That’s tough to answer.” I ask if there will be more interest for soccer in the USA now that a team that could be considered one of the world’s best is actually here. “All of those TV ratings will help people buy the rights to see their teams. Most people will get them now that there’s interest. The more people that watch, the more that will buy, and there’s another audience out there who will start watching, too.” I ask if he thinks the league will eventually become as popular as the NFL in America. “That’s a tough one. I guess I’ll say yes. It will eventually get there.” How far away is that from happening? “It’s gonna take a lot, but we have a lot of football fans that would change their mind if it was as popular as the NFL. It’s going to be a long road, though, and I don’t think it’s gonna be an overnight thing. There are a lot of things that need to happen.” Will the MLS get the exposure the league has been seeking? “I think they will, but they need to keep up the momentum. They need to be at the World Cup. It needs to be a big part of their plan. The World Cup is their big chance.” There it is. There’s that pressure. “It’s a tough situation, though. You’re under the microscope.” I ask him if he’s excited. “Oh yeah. I love soccer. This is my first time in a World Cup, but I’ve seen it many times in different places. I can’t wait to see the last game.” As for the rest of the world? “It’s a really tough question. I know I said that I would watch every game, but it’s hard to watch any of them. It’s not like the US. I’m kind of excited for us. I like all the guys on our team. That’s kind of how I look at it. It’s not like when I can’t sit down with one team.” He also said he wasn’t going to be a fan of the US men’s team. “I think I kind of have a chip on my shoulder about that, but it is a fun time to be living right now.” I can’t say that I was a big fan of the tournament when it started. I don’t mean the fact that the team I cheer for wasn’t in it. I just mean the whole World Cup experience in general. Once it was over, I felt like everyone involved and the world at large was left feeling empty. That doesn’t describe the reaction of a lot of people who follow soccer. They were thrilled to be there and then thrilled for the US team. It’s not that they’re necessarily not fans of soccer, but they were rooting for the US team, too. Not me, though. They really aren’t, are they? “No, I wasn’t. I didn’t even go to any World Cup matches. I think it’s a great experience and being here for it is great. It’s a big deal.” As for the World Cup itself, did you see the big upsets?