Yep, rant time once again. Have you seen the new Gatorade commercial that has "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" while they show scenes of soccer games? UGHGHGHGHGH!!! I HATE IT! Yes, I will readily admit I do not like soccer or understand the obsession its fans have. I am sure that is part of my revulsion to this commercial. I will also point out that I am not a baseball fan either (though my girl friend is desperately trying to change that). I find both sports generally boring.

My issue with this commercial is that as far as sports traditions go, "TMOTTBG" is BASEBALL. It is a huge slice of Americana. Soccer is not a really an American past time in any way, shape, or form. Yes, it is an extremely popular youth sport, and yes, in some parts of the country its popularity is rising due to the influx of immigrants that bring their love of soccer with them, but all in all, it is a sidebar in American sports culture. If soccer some day wants to be as big as baseball, it should go out and get its own anthem. Some song that includes the phrase “Nil-Nil” to convey the excitement of over 90 minutes of play without a goal, or perhaps they could work in a very long and loud GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL which came to be part of the soccer lexicon and experience for no other reason than to wake up those that had fallen asleep watching the nil-nil cliff hanger and to give them enough time to wake up and share in the celebration.

Ohhhh, I know I have torqued off those of you that love soccer. I am sure there is some elegance to the game that I am missing. Oh well. I am not saying those guys and gals playing are not athletes (though I suspect they can’t do much more than play soccer or run marathons). It certainly takes as much dedication and determination to reach the highest levels as it does with any other sport. But for my money and sports viewing time, give me “a tie score with only three seconds remaining, Jackson pulls up for the three!” or “Fourth and goal with no time left, Montana drops back to pass, and…” over “we have a titanic matchup that after 2 hours of play we are Nil-Nil” any day of the week. AND LEAVE THE THEME SONG TO THE GREAT AMERICAN PAST TIME ALONE!