England 1-U.S.A. 0

I've often written about my view of American sport, but it didn't occur to me until today what the Americans must think of ours.
At today's Rotary lunch the guest speaker was the girls' soccer coach from Waubonsie High School. Like most Naperville teams they are top in their field, pardon the pun. Many of the audience didn't know much about soccer and seemed amazed that the teams play for 45 minutes without a break.
American sportsmen don't seem to be able to last five minutes without stopping. Baseball games are so disjointed they have to employ entertainers to keep the crowds awake in between sessions. Even the final minute of a football game can stop every five seconds or so. Personally I think there is no excuse for this. If they didn't drink so much before the game they wouldn't need to keep running off to the men's room, or whatever it is they do.
"So what happens if new players are brought on?" asked one amazed Rotarian. "Don't you stop the game?"
They do, but only for a couple of seconds to give the referee time to pull up his socks.
They seemed astonished at the physical stamina of a player who can keep going for two 45 minute halves, plus extra time in event of a draw.
"Not only that," they explained. "But the players have to run all the way down to the end of the field and all the way back to the other end thoughout the game." I always took that for granted, but its not what happens in American football, where they run between lines marked on the field.
Perhaps soccer is a more interesting game than I thought.