On June 9, the biggest sporting event in the world kicks off.

?Kicks off?? says Joe, the… On June 9, the biggest sporting event in the world kicks off.

?Kicks off?? says Joe, the American sports fan. ?I thought they only played football in the winter??

Well for Joe, and presumably many of the American sports fans out there, there is another football set to begin its biggest competition in about two months. Sure, it?s called ?soccer? here, but everywhere else, it?s football.

The biggest, most-watched sporting event in the world ? the World Cup ? features 32 teams representing their respective countries. For exactly one month, these teams will grind their way through a grueling stretch of soccer against the highest quality competition the sport has to offer.

So just because the television will not blare with the sound of a moving advertisement driving in a circle at 200 mph or 300-pound men grunting as they push each other doesn?t necessarily mean there aren?t any good sports being played.

Some of the finest athletes in the world will pace their way through 90 minutes of nail-biting gridlocks, needing to capitalize on their few chances to take over a match.

Like baseball fans here, soccer fans soak in the opportunity to take in a live chess match, a battle of strategy, positioning, athletic prowess and wits. And, like Steelers fans, each team?s supporters live and die with every step taken by their favorite players.

I?m not pulling the classic ?You don?t understand the game? argument, because that?s condescending and rather ridiculous. What I am saying, however, is that you should sit down and watch a match or two.

I guarantee the fluidity of the game will impress you ? the slow buildup of a team?s move on goal, precision passing, adept footwork and then the split second in which a single window of opportunity opens. The ball becomes a bullet as it races through the air.

A single man hidden behind a wall of defenders is quickly exposed. That man ? the goalkeeper ? has a nanosecond to react. He can catch, deflect or parry the ball. His failure results in catastrophe. Giving up a goal in the World Cup cripples a team, forcing them to fight an uphill battle for the rest of the match.

The intensity is breathtaking. If you can appreciate the difficulty of a touchdown-scoring drive then you can certainly enjoy the monumental team effort required to score a goal in the World Cup.

Many people who tune in every four years for the Cup don?t realize the incredible stress a professional soccer player carries on his shoulders. For two seasons leading up to the World Cup, national players travel around their continents, playing critical matches in the middle of their regular professional season.

It would be like baseball players leaving their Major League Baseball clubs to play in high-stress qualifying games for the World Baseball Classic over the weekend and then coming back to their club on Monday for the next contest. But unlike the WBC, the World Cup doesn?t pull any punches. Lose, and be hated.

The seriousness of the competition has not yet found its way into American society, but around the world, the consequences of losing or making a major mistake have been dire.

David Beckham is still hearing complaints from English soccer fans after receiving a red card and immediate ejection from a second-round match in 1998 against Argentina. He was ostracized, threatened and hated for months, if not years, after the Cup.

In one sad instance, a Colombian defender named Andres Escobar was gunned down just 10 days after accidentally deflecting an American pass into his own goal. His team lost 2-1 to the United States and exited the tournament early.

Now these examples are not intended to get you excited for the World Cup. They simply illustrate the incredible magnitude of each dribble and pass.

You should watch this year?s World Cup because the United States actually has a shot at winning it. The road may be difficult ? the United States will see Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana in the first round ? but the Americans are more than capable of succeeding.

And even if they don?t win the trophy, it will still be thrilling to watch history unfold. So flip on your televisions and prepare for a month of 90-minute chess matches. It will be well worth it.

Jeff Greer will be locked in his room for the entire World Cup, chewing on his fingernails. E-mail him your World Cup plans and thoughts at [email protected].