GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!!

Throughout my lifelong love of sports, I've never been a soccer buff.

I've never known the passion and thrill of what intrigued so many to watch a sport which could end in a 0-0 tie and be called exciting.

Not even when I was growing up in Pontiac, Mich. in 1994 when the World Cup came to the Silverdome just 2 miles away from my front door was I enthralled in the sport or the excitment that looms around it.

That was until this summer.

My 4-year-old started his first organized sport: Soccer. And the World Cup is in full effect.

I found myself learning more about the rules of the game because people in the office were glued to the tube when they weren't working.

I think more than anything, a sense of personal pride for my country has drawn me into the Cup fever. Having watched the USA vs. England in the World Cup kickoff for our country. The 1-1 tie had me on my seat for quite some time as the USA may have earned the cliched nickname of the Cardiac Kids.

The 2-2 tie versus Slovenia was even more exciting, and I felt personally robbed when the goal was wiped out that would have won the game for the USA.

In the advancing game versus Algeria, with the game tied 0-0 (and another good goal wiped out by a bad offside call), I was cautiously optimistic about the U.S.'s chances of advancing to the next round. Ninety minutes had passed without a standing goal. In the final minutes of extra time, it was the most recognizable name on the US squad, Landon Donovan, who tapped in the go-ahead goal the the United States, and that culminated my fanhood as a soccer fan.

I errupted from my seat with a huge roar, one which got a strange look from Jax, my dog.

With that goal, soccer earned a new fan for life. And while I may not watch every game or keep up with the day to day activities, I will become more invested in professional soccer.