Raise your hand if you are enjoying SuperLiga as much as I am. There is some real passion on display in these matches, not to mention a nice bit of skill from the much-maligned MLS players. Christian Gomez was magnificent for D.C. against Club America yesterday, and I think my newest favorite MLS player might be Joseph Ngwenya (who Houston subbed off too early last night, in my opinion).

That's right, this is a photo of yours truly kissing the European Cup (try your hardest to contain your envy - jealousy will lead you down a dark path). How did this come about, you ask? Evidently, AC Milan is touring the trophy in an attempt to turn some unfortunate saps into Serie A fans (Milan fans at that - even worse!), and they made a stop at a prominent NYC soccer pub, Nevada Smith's.

I was shamelessly front-running, bouncing up and down to "Popazuda Rock 'N Roll" while some extremely attractive Brazilian girls were shimmying with the Robinho lookalike to my right, and who could blame me? Brazil, with a B squad full of players I was barely familiar with, had just pistol-whipped their more celebrated archrivals, vanquishing Argentina to claim another Copa America title, and since I had never partied with a bunch of Brazilians postgame, I couldn't think of a better occasion.

I am honestly excited by all of it. I can't wait for the hoopla, the impossible to fulfill expectations, the mocking and guffawing, the eventual backlash from the anti-soccer dolts, the eventual Spice Girls reunion, the eventual Landon Donovan beeyotch session where he cries about not being the center of LA's galaxy, the curling free kicks, and even the hairstyles.

Michael Bradley was pantomiming "2-1" to a group of Uruguayan sore losers, and I was texting a friend to drunkenly inform him that, yes indeed, Leo Messi is the best player in the world. It was soccer paradise, celebrating a hard fought win by the U.S. Under-20 while anticipating the thorough annihilation of Mexico at the hands of Argentina. Only a few moments later, Messi backed up my inebriated text message by lofting a spectacular floater just over the outstretched hand of douchebag supreme Oswaldo Sanchez, causing a number of Mexican patrons to sarcastically begin chanting "U-S-A!

So the U.S. is out of the Copa America, the Beckham hype machine is underway, and Gene Wojciechowski is making fun of soccer, mainly because, well, he doesn't know anything about it. Meanwhile, over at The Big Lead, commenters are making the argument that soccer is actually over-covered. It's just a day in the life of the American soccer fan, having to endure the USA getting the $#!

Work obligations kept me from watching the USA-Paraguay match, although I did manage to catch the first 20 minutes, including Sacha Kljestan's missed header. Since I haven't really seen the match, I thought I'd direct you over to Mike Cardillo's blog That's On Point, where he has some observations:
http://thatsonpoint.blogspot.com/2007/07/guay-guay-guay.

A Comparison:
Old - unique color scheme, cool sash...
New (via The Offside Rules) - Adidas templated, Real Madrid knocked-off garbage (but with a better crest)...
EDIT: Maybe it's starting to grow on me a little?