Culture

Watching the World Cup

Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France BY Laurent Dubois. University of California Press. Hardcover, 352 pages. $27.
The cover of Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France

During the most recent edition of the World Cup in 2006, 16.9 million Americans watched the quadrennial soccer tournament's final game on TV — more than those who tuned in to the NBA playoffs that year. Soccer is growing in the United States, especially because ours is one of only seven national teams to have qualified for all of the last six World Cups. And right now there is little chance of escaping talk about it — even in the United States.