If Fans Know Soccer Is Dull, Why Do They Watch?

Brian Phillips tries to explain:

But I think there's more to the relationship of fans and boredom than just magic moments. I want you to like soccer if you don't already, so I probably shouldn't admit this. But the game gets in your head. Following soccer is like being in love with someone who's (a) gorgeous, (b) fascinating, (c) possibly quite evil, and (d) only occasionally aware of your existence. There's a continuous low-grade suffering that becomes a sort of addiction in its own right. You spend all your time hoping they'll notice you, and they never do, and that unfulfilled hope feels like your only connection to them. And then one day they look your way, and it's just, pow. And probably they just want help moving, and maybe they call you Josie instead of Julie, but still. It keeps you going. And as irrational as it sounds, you wouldn't trade this state of being for a life of quiet contentment with someone else. All you could gain would be peace of mind, and you'd lose that moment when the object of your fixation looked at you and you couldn't feel your face. Soccer is, in other words, both romantic and tragic, and the soft agony of a bad game is an inescapable part of this. You spend all your time hoping something will happen, and it never does.

Boy, sounds like fun.  I don't quite understand what is intriguing about soccer.  I'll admit, I watched a little bit of the World Cup in 2010, when I would come into the house at lunchtime.  I'm not sure if I ever was watching when a goal was scored.  I think I might have been sitting there when somebody scored one and got to watch the replay, but I don't remember.  Honestly, I generally miss the goals in hockey, too, but the parts that I watch are much more entertaining than soccer.