The fifth sport?

Behind the NFL, the NBA, MLB and the NHL, soccer has comfortably taken a hold on US's fifth biggest sport. Haha, not yet.

Soccer will be out of the mainstream media by Tuesday. But for the time being, today's Confederations Cup Final between Brazil and USA is the talk of the town.

I'm usually not one for moral victories. As an athlete, that's the last thing you want. I hate using this saying, but Herm Edwards was right -- "You play to win the game." But this is different.

It's been waaaaay too long since US Soccer was as strong a force in the media as it is today. Although the attention will be gone in 24 hours, Team USA did accomplish something. Their performance won't change the way US Soccer is viewed or anything drastic like that, but casual soccer fans, like me, were glued to the TV today. Ashton Kutcher and Bill Simmons among others were tweeting their way through the match, and ESPN Radio and SportsCenter were all over the game. Soccer will be out of sight, out of mind soon enough, but people will remember this past week when the World Cup roles around next year.

I'd like to think my interest in soccer is that of most sports fans. I could care less about it unless it's a big match/tournament. This past week, Team USA showed up in two huge matches, and I was totally into it. My brother and I were playing NBA Live 2009 this morning, and we ALWAYS look at the stats afterwards. But today, we bypassed that normal step to watch the game. We freaked out when Clint Dempsey redirected the first goal. I probably won't watch another US soccer match until the World Cup, but when the team goes back to South Africa next year, I'll remember this weekend and watch again.

On another, more important note, at what point does a soccer player become "great." Kaka has become "The Great Kaka" according to today's announcers. How does Bill Gates become "The Great Bill Gates?" How has Bill Gates not earned that name yet? Ah, soccer is so confusing!

-Pros