I wish every soccer hater was forced to sit down and watch yesterday's match. I'm certainly no diehard fan - I don't know 99% of the players and I only watch the major tournaments and biggest games. That being said, the excitement in the stands and the obvious tension on the field (er, "pitch"
) yesterday was incredible. Some of the near misses were breath taking - shots off of posts, defenders heading away sure goals, etc. And the physical play was awesome. Only watching a few matches per year, the difference between that game yesterday and the embarrassing flopping of the World Cup was refreshing. Bloody noses, elbows, tackle after tackle.
And finally, while I know that purists don't like games being decided by penalties, it was truly gripping TV to have it all come down to that. Seeing the best player in the world choke and then get bailed out was soap opera level stuff.
Any sports fan who actually sat down and watched that yesterday would have been glued to their TV - it had every element of a classic from any other sport.
Just my two cents as an infrequent observer.