World Cup doesn't interest Americans?

I read and hear that Americans have no interest in the World Cup of soccer (which the rest of the world calls "football"). Even Charlie Pierce, the Boston Globe columnist and commentator on National Public Radio, who seems to know everything about every sport, expresses his disdain for the World Cup.

My question: How can there be so much hype in the USA about the Olympics (to me, the most boring of events) every four years, with hours and hours of it on TV, and yet be told that Americans couldn’t care less about the World Cup (also played every four years)?

To be sure, soccer would be more exciting to watch if there were more scoring–a game ending in a score of 1-0 or a 0-0 tie isn’t nearly as exciting as it could be; there is too much kicking the ball up and down the field for nought in those matches. My recommendation for more scoring is to make the field smaller and/or the goal larger (which will happen when pigs fly).

But, as it is, soccer is exciting to watch and, with the World Cup teams representing many countries, adds the flavor of international competition. I plan to watch parts of many of the games on TV until the championship one on July 9th, for which I will be glued to my set.

Chacun à son gout.