Like broccoli, soccer is an acquired taste.

Given a choice, Americans would rather pile on the fries or the mashed potatoes, even though we all know that green is good.
We’ve been playing this silly game with ourselves for years now. The United States is going for the broccoli! The Soccer Revolution is coming!
Brace yourselves. Feel the storm. Respect the winds of change.
Sorry, nothing but a breeze.
There’s nobody to blame, particularly all my brothers and sisters from the media who get smacked around by the Soccer Zealots because we don’t care. The soccer nuts remain a minority, but they love to scream a lot about the injustices of our failure to devote more time and energy to soccer news.
Please, a moment of logic. The media would pay more interest, if only the United States did. But the U.S. has better things to do, like watch basketball, baseball and football (not spelled funny, as in futbol).
Soccer has tried to go mainstream in this country for decades. The sport has brought in big stars like Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and David Beckham to juice our interest. This country hosted the men’s World Cup in 1994, in venues that included Orlando. The U.S. soccer team made the quarterfinals in the 2002 World Cup.
So where’s the soccer revolution?
But wait . . .
Opportunity beckons again on Sunday when the U.S. plays Brazil in the Confederations Cup final in South Africa. This is huge for the U.S., which stunned No. 1-ranked Spain, 2-0, in the semifinal. This marks the first opportunity for this country to win a major international championship.
I’ll tune in on Sunday afternoon, cheering proudly for the red, white and blue. Hopefully, many more Americans will, too.
If the U.S. pulls another huge upset and the revolution finally hits, kudos to everyone involved. But I suspect this will be another blip on the soccer screen.
I think most Americans are like me. They appreciate the big moments, like World Cup or Olympic soccer. It’s not surprising that the 1994 World Cup set an attendance record for the event. I loved the buzz in this city when it hosted World Cup games. But when the circus packs up and leaves, we move on to creature comforts. We shouldn’t have to apologize for not caring enough about soccer.
We are a soccer nation afflicted with attention deficit disorder. Attendance is down for 13 of the returning 14 Major League Soccer teams this season. Recession acknowledged, but it reflects the trajectory of a sport that keeps on trying and trying, but doesn’t have enough pop to make people care.
It’s a great recreational sport, particularly with kids, but they don’t grow up to be soccer players. This country has yet to develop a soccer superstar who has succeeded in the top four leagues in Europe.
Soccer is big there, obviously. But people across the pond and elsewhere also like to put mayo on their french fries, drive on the wrong side of the road, and still think that Jerry Lewis is the funniest man in the world.
It’s all about culture. Period.
We live in the United States, where the NFL is a religion. I seriously doubt anyone in Barcelona is miffed because the Green Bay Packers aren’t getting enough coverage in the local paper. They don’t care. Why do we have to feel guilty if we don’t give a hoot about Real Madrid?
As fantasy football kicks off in a few months, we’ll get fired up about Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner. We don’t give a flip about how Brazil’s Kaka stacks up in this year’s Soccer Power Rankings.
This revolution I remember was staged in the late 1700s, when we fought a War of Independence from England. We were ready to forge a new identity, with new customs.
And so we are here, free to love sports that stir our souls. A one-nil contest does not do a thing for many of us.
If that’s what rocks your world, have at it. Go to the pubs that air games in the middle of the night, hoist a pint in your team’s honor, and sing those bouncy songs until the sun comes up.
Will we be awash in soccer glory Monday morning?
“There are so many countries in soccer that want to get to the top, but there’s no way to skip steps,” U.S. Coach Bob Bradley said this week. “You learn at each step.”
Big step on Sunday, or just another baby crawl for a sport that can’t find its legs in the United States?
Either way, I’m still going to put ketchup on my french fries.
I’m not apologizing for that, either.