I like soccer. There it is, I said it. You might ask what's wrong with me, so I'll tell you. Like a lot of other kids growing up in the suburbs, I played soccer starting at a very young age. I was quite good at it, so I continued playing up through high school. As I grew older, the competition got better, and my skills in comparison diminished.

But that's another story for another time. The point is that, to this day, I like soccer.

I understand that not only do some Americans dislike soccer, the majority loathe it. Of course, there is a tiny subculture that are fans of the game, but these are mostly dorks who don't know any better. Trust me, I've done the investigation.

It is obvious that MLB, the NFL, NBA, NHL and NASCAR, are vastly more important to the general American public as a whole.

The primary complaint about soccer is the lack of scoring. Well, just as in hockey or basketball, you have to learn to appreciate the action up and down the field of play independent of scoring. Things like passing, ball-handling, and the movement of players without the ball, are all integral and often overlooked aspects of the game.

Another complaint I have heard is about the histrionics of players on the soccer field. A player gets booted in the shin, so he takes a dive and rolls around on the field clutching himself as if he's been shot with a Desert Eagle. Then he is put on a stretcher and carried off the pitch only to return in fine health at the next stoppage in play.

I understand this complaint. When this stuff happens, it is lame and disappointing. I think soccer's royalty, the Europeans and South Americans, are responsible for it. Somewhere along the line, someone in Europe or South America decided that faking injury to an extent that would disgust anyone with an ounce of pride was a good way to gain an advantage in a soccer match. This view might sound xenophobic, but I think it's true based on the international soccer I've seen.

So, basically, even if you can't stand this behavior, feel free to root for the USA in international competition.

There is a more specific reason for this collection of my musings on "the beautiful game." The 2006 World Cup draw took place last month, and the Americans got screwed. They were placed in one of the toughest groups for this upcoming summer's competition in Germany.

The way it works is as follows: There are eight groups of four teams each, including one top-seeded team in each group. Every team plays a match against each of the other three teams in its group in the first round of play. The top two teams from each group then advance to a 16-team tournament to crown a champion. Thus, the group a team is placed in is very important.

The USA drew top-seeded Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana in its group. As pretty much everyone knows, Italy is a perennial power in the sport, and the Yanks will just have to hope they don't show up to play just as favorites France and Portugal failed to in the 2002 tourney.

The Czechs are ranked second in the FIFA World Rankings and scored the most goals of any country in qualifying for the tournament, while Ghana is seemingly the weak link in the group. I don't know much about the little African nation, but African sides rarely make it beyond the first round, and until they do so with some regularity I will have a hard time giving them any respect.

If everything goes to plan, Italy advances and Ghana has no chance, then the U.S. of A. vs. the Czech Republic should be the key match in the opening round.

As a special treat for you and for me, each and every game of the 2006 World Cup will be televised on ABC and ESPN in June. There's no excuse for you not to watch it.

Although their road to the second round will be tough, the USA has a talented side capable of making a lot of noise in the world's most popular tournament. Names like Landon Donovan, Brian McBride and Claudio Reyna, three of the USA's top footballers, should be on the tip of every American's tongue come next summer.