Are you excited about the World Cup, which starts this Friday? I am.

Admittedly, I’m a pay-attention-to-soccer-every-four-years kind of fan, but that puts my in good stead with most of my fellow Americans. As Andrei Markovits writes in today’s Boston Globe, soccer is not part of our “hegemonic sports culture” — meaning a world of watching, following, worrying, debating, living a sport rather than merely playing it.”

Many, many Americans player soccer as kids — I did — but then we stop following the sport. It has never become “the world game” of football for us as it has for much of the rest of the world (and it’s a similar story in Australia, despite that link to the Australian TV network that covers the game with distinction). Instead, we have our American football, baseball, basketball, and, in some parts of the country, ice hockey to satisfy our sports appetite.

And yet it is impossible to ignore the passion of the athletes and their fans during the World Cup. It’s what makes the event the most anticipated and celebrated in all of sports (you’re welcome to disagree).

In addition to watching the games themselves, I’ll be following that passion online. Here are some sites to visit:

• World Cup Blog aggregates “34 blogs reporting daily on every detail” of the competition. The site has a section for photos as well.
• FIFA’s official World Cup site includes up-to-date schedules, pool standings, and a profile of each of the 736 athletes participating.
• Google and Nike have teamed up to produce Joga.com, a social networking site for fans. You must have or create a gmail account to join, though.
• U.S. soccer team’s website and blog.
• WORLD CUP DAQ — the BBC’s World Cup stock exchange game
• Technorati’s listing of World Cup blogs.

But if you’re still not revved up for the World Cup, then maybe you just need to watch this motivational video by a group of English university students:

Update: I have removed the video from this blog because of copyright concerns.

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