By Mike Cox World Cup fever didn’t last very long. Like hockey, rhythmic gymnastics, and curling, we got excited about an unknown sporting event for a very short time until we realized the US team wasn’t going to win, then we lost our buzz. Everyone went back to worrying about Lebron, illegal aliens, and the Kardashians.

How can soccer be so popular in the rest of the world and so utterly without merit here? We take the kids to league contests for years but never buy into the excitement. Somehow, I don’t think 90,000 fans will ever stand as one and scream for a one–nil rivalry game.

One of the primary reasons is that we have politicized this sport. Conservative pundits consider soccer to be a leftist, liberal activity with absolutely no redeeming value. Glenn Beck raged about it last week. I’m sure he found a way to link soccer to Hitler.

A bunch of long haired hippies running around in sandals and Che Gueverra T–shirts pointlessly kicking a ball and plotting the end of freedom. But that’s hackysack. Besides, three of the four finalists are from established countries in Europe, including Germany, the poster boy for conservatism.

Cheerleading liberal enthusiasts are just as obnoxious. They describe soccer as if talking about a former girlfriend. Most insist on using correct terms for futbol and pronounce the participating countries’ names as if they were natives. I’d rather watch Beck’s eyes bug out.

Soccer offers everything our other sports do: incompetent referees and insane fans who get drunk, riot, and kill each other over disagreements. It also features overpaid superstars who feign injury and play for the glory of personal self. Sounds right up our alley.

My favorite part of soccer is how the governments get involved. I know our Congressmen use football and baseball to gain votes, but we don’t punish players who fail to live up to expectations. France’s president issued a public tongue lashing about the childish behavior of their national team and made them fly coach back to France. Another country’s team was suspended for two years for poor play.

You would think America would come to enjoy the Beautiful Game. It is perfect for youth activity. All you need is a ball and a place to kick it. Your precious little snowflake can play alone if the thought of competition and interacting with other kids makes him start wheezing.

There are no regimented rules to follow and no need for an adult to supervise and make decisions. Based on some of the officials’ rulings in this World Cup, the entire sport would be better off without referees.

But that enjoyment for soccer as a kid doesn’t seem to translate to adulthood. Purists have been proclaiming that soccer would take over the country’s sports psyche in just a few years, as soon as the current group of children playing soccer grew up. We’ve been saying that since the Seventies.

We can’t seem to treat it with the reverence and importance of our own popular sports. Maybe it’s just too loose and freewheeling for our deep seated Puritanical roots. Like hackysack.