Actually no, I love soccer. Especially the World Cup! I caught the fever after being in England 8 years ago right before that world cup and you couldn't help but learn about the game and feel the passion for it.

This tournament is no different than Olympic team sports, or that poorly timed World Baseball Classic. Trust me when I say England is devastated by this draw and is yet another major step for the US to be taken seriously in the world's game. In the grand scheme of the game, the US is nothing put a pest and today was a big victory that adds on to our Confederations Cup performance 1 year ago. We have the best goalie in the world and today proved what that's worth. I think a key will be to watch the matches with someone who plays and understands the subtle nuances of the game. That did it for me 8 years ago. Like Nascar, until you know how the little things make up the big picture, it can seem fairly shallow.

FYI…Starting in the round of 16 the games are single elimination, so there must be a winner.
After regulation there are two 15 minute overtime halves (played like a whole new match).
At the end of the 30+ minutes if it is still tied, then you'll see a penalty shootout.
Each team gets 5 shots until one team has more goals from the shots.
If after 5 shooters they are still tied, it goes to sudden death shots, with
each team getting one shot until one of them misses.

Haha, I tend to agree about excitement in sports. Remember I love hockey before anything else.

Most international sports actually have a clock that shows time elapsed instead of time remaining. That's really just an American thing. Most Europeans I've met tend to ask me the same question in reverse, they ask if we're so bad in math we cannot figure it out. To-may-to, To-mah-to.

Let's not forget those 2-1 or 1-0 3+ hour baseball games. Although more rare than a 1-1 soccer match, it is longer.

The continuous clock adds to the difficulty of the game. Especially since there are no time outs, play does not halt for injuries to any player except the goalie or major injuries, and “time wasting” is met by a yellow card. 2 yellow cards = 1 red card. Yellow cards carry over to the next match, and a red card equals expulsion from the current match plus suspension from the next match. No replacement in current match, team must play short one man. I think basketball should do the same upon fouling out.

As for the extra or “stoppage” time, the referee adds time on to the end of the half to account for “wasted” time during the half based on celebrations, injuries that halted play, or time spent after a ball goes out of bounds. It is generally only 2-5 minutes and is at his discretion. The clock though never stops and there are no time outs.