It’s hard not to get drawn into some of the excitement of World Cup Soccer – especially given the fact that our 3 regional baseball teams are playing so-so, and football is about a month and a half away.

So sports fans – particularly younger ones, or those from foreign countries, have gathered in bars to watch what had to be one of the marquee events of the tournament.

The USA vs. Portugal.

Don’t ask me the logistics of the game, other than it looks an awful lot like either hockey or basketball – and the clock never seems to wind down.

But that’s just me.

So there I was, in the midst of a family event watching some of the game with my son in law and his cousin, who happens to be a rabid soccer fan – and as fate would have it – got caught up in all the excitement as the USA tied Portugal – and then in the final seconds as Portugal tied the USA.

Was this a good ending? From what I’m able to gather, perhaps – but the larger question is – have you gotten drawn in?

My guess is that if you’re of a certain age, probably not – and can’t wait for the first snap of the 2014 football season.

The American kind.

But for fans of soccer, this is the Superbowl.
According to this:

The Portuguese bar on Tonnelle Avenue was filled with soccer fans during the evening match as both teams competed for their tournament lives.

Mario Costa, the owner of the bar and die-hard Portugal fan, said the (Portuguese) team needed to redeem itself after a dismal loss against Germany by beating the United States. "We need to win, otherwise we go home."
The United States managed to tie the match with a magnificent second-half performance.

Cheers and chants of "USA!" burst out from people at the bar first in the 64th minute and then again, even louder, when the United States scored a go-ahead goal in the 80th minute.

Everyone in the bar was on edge for the remaining time in regulation and then for the five minutes of added stoppage time. Every television at the bar had the game on, and everyone was tuned in.

But the United States' hopes of advancing to the next stage of the World Cup with a win Sunday were dashed when Portugal scored in the final 15 seconds of the match.

Big finishes in sports, especially when one teams seems on the verge of losing, only to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, are always exciting - no matter what the sport – even if it seems to take an interminable length of time to get to the “promised land.”

But I'm still believing that for GenXers and thoe ones coming after them, give it another 10 years, and soccer will overtake some of our other uniquely American sports - particularly baseball (especially with some of these new rules in place that make the games go on forever).

What say you? Do you find the World Cup games breathtaking or boring?

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