So I took a week-long break from The Huddle and the office -- though I did huddle around the TV to watch some NFL Network and re-runs of The Office. In the interim, I tried to humor my future in-laws by watching the World Cup ... they're soccer fans, you see, and why not get off on the right "foot" with the fiancee's family by immersing myself in this so-call "Beautiful Game"?  (Some background on me -- I'm paid to be an expert on professional football in America, the UFL notwithstanding, and I have a passing interest in international football about as often as most Americans ... which is to say every four years, just so I can have intelligent conversations with the soccerniks before they go back into hibernation until 2014. I'm also told Florio has already expounded on this topic, but I'll read his version later.)  So two weeks into FIFA's quadrennial crown jewel, here are 10 reasons (off the top of my head actually) why I'll take the NFL every day of the week -- and thrice on Sunday -- over soccer at its worldwide zenith:  1. Referees -- Sure, even Ed Hochuli blows a call once in a while. But it seems in every World Cup the officiating is spotty at best, largely inconsistent from game to game and has far too weighty an impact on outcomes in a sport where goooooooooooals are soooooooooo precious. Clearly soccer is beloved globally, so I'm not naive enough to suggest an overhaul of a game billions adore. But how about at least two more refs on the pitch? Asking one man to legislate such a massive field populated by 22 players virtually by himself is too tall a task (Hochuli is part of a seven-man crew after all) ... and explains why, for example, U.S. forward Clint Dempsey can absorb a teeth-rattling Algerian elbow that bloodies his chops (in the penalty box no less), yet nothing is called. It'd be nice if the officials on the sideline could be more helpful, but getting offsides calls correct seems to be challenging enough for them (more on that later).  2. Transparency -- Remember when the U.S. team nearly overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat Slovenia when Mali referee Koman Coulibaly disallowed what seemed to be the match-clinching goal by U.S. midfielder Maurice Edu? Stomaching that outcome was tough enough -- though the U.S. rebounded to win Group C in the end -- but the fact that Coulibaly offered no explanation for his ruling and then FIFA refused to address it later underscored the sport's lack of transparency. Roger Goodell's head referee at least attempts to explain controversial calls after every NFL weekend, and the league office has issued mea culpas in the past for poor officiating that turns the outcome of a game. (Remember the 49ers-Giants wild-card tilt in 2003? The Giants received an NFL-issued apology in the wake of their 39-38 loss when the refs failed to call pass interference on San Francisco during a botched field-goal attempt at game's end.) No such insight or accountability from FIFA.  3. Offsides -- Hate it. Again, I won't presume to alter soccer's age-old strictures, but eliminating offsides (or at least allowing one offensive player between the opposing goalie and his last line of defense) would 1) presumably increase scoring and 2) free up those side judges to watch the on-field action more closely while preventing the botched offsides calls that seem to occur far too often (just ask Mexico about that in the wake of Sunday's loss to Argentina). And, by the way, can you imagine if Randy Moss had to wait for Tom Brady to throw the ball before he got behind the opposing free safety? Ugh.  4. Scoring -- Call me the Ugly American, but a 3-0 tally in the NFL is a slow first quarter. In soccer, it's a blowout.  5. Ties -- In 48 matches during 2010 World Cup group play, there were 14 draws (nearly one third of the contests) ... that's right, 90-plus minutes per match resolving nothing. New Zealand nearly advanced out of group play with an 0-0-3 record. The NFL has staged approximately 5,000 regular-season games over the last two decades -- and four have ended in ties.  When I watch a sporting event, I really prefer to see a winner and loser at the final whistle. Otherwise, what's the point (other than the 1 point awarded to each country in the World Cup group standings for a tie)? "Sound and fury, signifying nothing," according to Shakespeare (who's a big Wayne Rooney fan according to my sources).  6. "Injuries" -- Soccer fans call it gamesmanship. And, yes, American sports viewers are accustomed to seeing an NBAer flop or even a pass rusher trying to draw a holding penalty or wideout attempting to earn a pass-interference call. But it remains painful to watch soccer players writhing in faux pain even if they'd have you believe they'd been sniped by a Navy SEAL after enduring a foul (no matter how minor). But wait a minute before you put these guys on injured reserve. Their seeming antiheroic behavior leads to instantaneous regeneration that rivals X-Men antihero Wolverine.  This stratagem is especially onerous when a team -- think Slovakia vs. Italy (and the ESPN broadcast team had my back) -- uses its "injuries" to bleed the clock and protect a lead even though injury time is supposed to be restored at the end of the match. The running clock truly is a beautiful aspect of soccer, and the game's unimpeded flow is a wonderful dynamic, but stopping the clock for players in "distress" might be a good idea, especially in extra time.  7. Shady tactics -- ESPN's announcers began ripping the Algerians in the final round of group play, suggesting Algeria was playing for a tie against the U.S. even though an Algerian win could have potentially springboarded that country to the Round of 16. In the past, teams would often mutually agree to forge a tie if it would allow each to advance, scheming FIFA has laudably tried to eliminate by holding the finales during group play concurrently and thus hampering nations' ability to manipulate the standings. Still, when a team is content to play for anything other than a win during soccer's grand tournament -- especially with so much at stake -- something seems wrong.  8. ESPN's coverage -- I think they do the NFL and Monday Night Football pretty well. But I wouldn't mind if some of the World Cup coverage was dialed down just a bit (though I do enjoy Tommy Smyth and liked the cadence and vernacular of play-by-play man Ian Darke and his pronunciation of [Benny] Feilhaber.) At least give me more footage of Packers minicamp than analyzing the 2006 U.S.-Ghana match as if it pertained much to Saturday's showdown. Is anyone going to ask Eli Manning about carving up the Colts defense in 2006 (the last time he faced Indianapolis) and what it means prior to his game in Indy this September?  9. Replay -- It can bog down any sport, and it certainly has padded an NFL game game or ten over the years. But it's generally not a bad thing to right an egregious wrong. Expect the hue and cry for soccer replay -- at least on questionable goals -- to swell in England any minute now after the (completely obvious and crucial) goal the Three Lions were deprived of Sunday in their loss to Germany.  10. Post-goal celebrations -- Admittedly, I would like the NFL to relax the rules quashing player antics after a touchdown ... I did like a good Chad Ochocinco show, props and all (when it was legal back in the day), after he'd taken one to the house. But do these soccer guys ever act like Barry Sanders or Larry Fitzgerald -- been there, done that -- after putting one in the back of the net? The histrionics are especially tired late in a game when someone scores even though his team couldn't possibly surmount a two-goal deficit.  And there you have it. My week-long immersion in this "Not-All-That-Beautiful-And-Semi-attractive-At-Best Game" has come to an end. And, as cool as it was watching a harrowing U.S. win over Algeria last week, our country's subsequent ouster likely means I'll be ousting myself from further World Cup viewings.  Thanks for the memories, Landon, but when it comes to Donovans, give me McNabb.
Football vs. Futbol: Why the World Cup whets our NFL appetite - The Huddle: Football News from the NFL - USATODAY.com