I like baseball better, but I’ve become a soccer fan–partly because I’m a sucker for high-stakes competition even it’s curling, but mainly because it’s a great sport full of outstanding athletes. Yes, the game would benefit from more scoring. I once went to an MLS game that ended 0-0, and it’s hard not to walk away and wonder what was the point, even after admiring the running, kicking, heading, and diving saves.

One of the great things about American soccer is its organic, almost Burkean growth. Read this story from the NYT mag a couple of weeks ago. Europe has a command-and-control model for developing its top soccer players–a system that has clubs trying to identify world-class talent among elementary-school kids. Over here, our clubs are much more recreational (and democratic) in nature and less focused on the technocratic cultivation of elite performers. They certainly have their success stories in Europe and I’ve seen some ugliness from the sidelines of American soccer fields (e.g., parents acting as if a game of eight-year-old players is game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals)–but on the whole, the American dedication to widespread athletic participation is a big plus. Did you know that kids who play sports earn more money as grown ups? Well, it’s true–and it’s a secret source of our success as a competitive, market-driven society.

Another thing about soccer: I like women’s soccer better than men’s. A lot of this has to do with my daughter, who plays for a travel team. We’ve started going to WPS games (i.e., Women’s Professional Soccer). They’re a lot more fun than MLS games. Because fewer people attend, you sit closer to the action–close enough to hear the players call out to each other. (Interestingly, they yell “man on!” rather than “woman on!” or “girl on!” when a defender approaches a teammate from behind; my daughter is taught to do the same.) What’s more, they’re great with the kids. The current star of the U.S. women’s national team is Abby Wambach. She plays for the Washington Freedom, so she plays close to where we live. When the games end, she and her teammates go to the sidelines and sign autographs until every kid who wants one has gotten one. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining or if there are hundreds of them. They stay until the very end.