Few New Yorkers will take time out to watch today’s match. That could change, says marc appleman
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Shaq goes for another ring! It's Heat vs. Mavs in the NBA Final! Yankees and Red Sox battle for first place! Latest major league baseball drug scandal erupts! These are the sports headlines that are dominating the back pages and the airwaves in the United States as the American soccer team prepares to play its opening round match in the World Cup today.
Most American sports fans are aware that the biggest sporting event in the world is being played in Germany. Many fans even know that the US has its best team ever. But few probably have any idea that the US is actually ranked No. 5 in the world by FIFA (as of May 2006).
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| The US is actually ranked No. 5 in the world – that’s five spots above England |
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That's five spots above England. Soccer continues to grow as a participant sport in the US, particularly among youngsters in middle-class suburbs, and in high schools and colleges. However, 16-year-olds who have incorporated the scissor kick into their game go home to watch Shaq on TV (that's Shaquille O'Neal, for those who don't follow basketball), not soccer.
Throughout the world, football is the street game. In America, basketball is the street game. You'll find hoops in playgrounds on street corners throughout most cities. Soccer is considered an international sport, not America's sport.
However, starting in 1999, the US soccer federation made some big changes. A major effort was made to attract talented young minority athletes, who previously would have played American football or basketball. Twenty top soccer 
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