I am from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, where college basketball is the state religion.
Go Big Blue!!
The first soccer game that I ever saw was in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was the Sao Paulo state championship, and it was a hell of a game. The final score was 3-2, and there were a LOT of close goals, terrific play, and the crowd was fantastic.
I went to see another game a month later, and it was boring as hell. Small crowd, score was 1-0, nothing worth remembering except the drizzle on the field.
I've tried watching soccer on television, and it can hold my interest maybe for 20 minutes. That's all though, its just too boring otherwise.
A lot of kids play soccer, and even up to high school and into college. However, past that there's little professional interest, and I think most of the teams that we have in this country can count hispanics as their primary fan base (or others from other nationalities where soccer is important).
To be very honest, I cannot understand for the life of me what Europeans find so interesting about the sport. I would have expected better. Yes I'm aware of the popularity in the rest of the world, and again cannot for the life of me understand why.
I'm still boycotting professional baseball, from the last strike, until both the players and owners take pay cuts. Since hell will freeze over first, I suspect that I'll not be watching anymore baseball in my lifetime. American football is still interesting to me, but the commercials are overwhelming now and its tough to get into the game with all of those interruptions.
You asked. 8)
John