SPORTS WATCH : A Very Full Cup

Even after Friday’s colorful opening ceremonies in Chicago and the first contest (Germany 1, Bolivia 0) in the 52-game soccer tournament that will culminate in Pasadena’s Rose Bowl a month from now, there is no doubt that many U.S. citizens still are wondering what all this World Cup fuss is about.

That’s inevitable in a country where soccer is far down the list of popular sports. And that may not change much once the world’s biggest sporting event has finished and one country among the 24 that began the tournament has been crowned champion.

Still, watching the excitement of a sellout crowd in Chicago, and anticipating similar excitement this weekend at the Rose Bowl when the first two of eight games are played there (Colombia versus Romania and Cameroon versus Sweden), few escaped exhilaration at the thought of the world holding one of its biggest sporting parties here in the United States.

Although many U.S. citizens are only vaguely aware of it, the quadrennial World Cup tournament is every bit as big as the Olympics. In fact, the television audience for its championship game is bigger than for American football’s Super Bowl. Both the Olympics and the Super Bowl have been held here in Los Angeles in recent years, and this community did itself proud hosting them.

We look forward to playing host again as still another world-class sporting event arrives. And who knows? In the process we just might learn a bit more about a game that excites passions almost everywhere else in the world. At least it will be fun trying.