Soccer 101: The Rabid Fans

So we've dealt with the rules (even that really confusing offside one). We've dealt with the faking. We've dealt with the player's positions and team formations. We've even dealt with the referees and their roles in a game. There's only one large enigma left to explain to the soccer newcomer: The millions of people around the world who actually enjoy watching, following, living and breathing this game.

SOCCER FANS

Ok, you may think you've met something like a soccer fan. But you haven't. You've seen teamsters strip down to their underwear for Green Bay football. You've seen half naked white trash follow their favorite NASCAR drivers around the country in a trailer. You've seen a guy drop his toddler to catch a fly ball. But you still haven't seen anything like a soccer fan.

Soccer is not just a passion for these people. It's not even an obsession. It's a way of life. Period.

Not only have some soccer clubs been around for 150 years, they are often supported by generations of the same family, from the same neighborhood.

Consider this: America supports three major professional sports with about 30 teams each. In England alone, the entire soccer pyramid contains 7,000 teams, every one of which could theoretically rise and fall to either the very top or the very bottom of the league system. And each year over 700 professional, semi-professional and amateur teams compete each year for a single trophy, the F.A. Cup.

Soccer fans love their teams so much, they sing about it and the songs aren't even 25% vulgar ... most of the time. Although, it can be kind of disturbing watching thousands of German fans chant anything in unison.

So when the World Cup comes around every four years, the fans in these countries skip work en masse. Many countries (including Germany during 2006 and South Africa in 2010) grant official public holidays during the tournament. All activity in countries such as Brazil, for example, completely stops while their national team is playing.

American's love their sports, there's no doubt about it. But when it comes to soccer - a sport played by nearly everyone else everywhere else in the world - we're talking about the closest thing to a universal language humanity has ever known. That is a passion on a scale even Yankees fans, Dallas Cowboy fans, Los Angeles Lakers fans cannot match.

It's a beautiful game to play. It's a beautiful game to watch. And it's a damned beautiful game to be a part of.

Tomorrow on Soccer 101: What is the World Cup and Why Should I Care?