USA or no USA, the World Cup is unique

By Joe Smeltzer

Eight months after the last World Cup ended, I got hooked on world football.

There once was a time when I couldn't stand anything associated with the world's most popular sport. After a friend from high school introduced me to the beautiful game, however, I saw what I was missing, and was absolutely obsessed for about a six month period.

Although I haven't followed the sport as much as I'd have liked to the past few years when something big happens, such as my favorite club, Liverpool FC, making it all the way to the Champions League final, I don't miss it, and I will be invested come next week when the 2018 World Cup kicks off.

World football has its annual events as well, unlike other sports, its largest platform happens as frequently as a presidential election. So having developed such a passion for the sport and realizing that it would be three years before I'd get to appreciate the World Cup for the first time was a tough pill to swallow.

Due to team USA's ineptitude leading to it missing the big tournament for the first time since 1986, this nation's interest in soccer understandably won't be as high in 2018 as it was in 2014, 2010, 2006 etc. While it makes perfect sense for a fan to not want anything to do with an international tournament that their host country isn't taking part in, the fact is that the World Cup isn't something that any sports fan should miss out on.

As somebody who once hated soccer more than any other sport, I can say that just watching one game could be enough to make a believer out of anybody. What better time to give the beautiful game a try than when it's at it's most glorious, which is the World Cup? You never know when your view will change and what will cause it. Hopefully, you'll fall in love with the sport while the World Cup is in action, and not when it's three years away.