Sports Letters: Unique Americans

Sir: With the start of the World Cup finals less than five weeks away, I expect to see plenty more articles like Ken Jones's 'American pie in the sky', tut-tutting at the disinterest in the US media in the sporting event of the year.

Americans already have a full complement of national sports - football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey. All are rooted deeply in their culture, so who are we to try and impose yet another on them, or express surprise when they stubbornly resist?

Soccer is distinctly un-American with its uninterrupted periods of action, limited scoring and absence of tactical control from the touchline. That the rest of the world enjoys soccer is a matter of supreme indifference to them, further proof of their uniqueness.

Yours,

PHILIP MOSELEY

Sutton, Surrey

10 May