I can honestly say I have never watched a whole game of soccer, either live or televised. I have seen bits, but I'm just not interested. I think the level of skill and the stamina of the players is amazing, as it is in tennis (Wimbledon coming up). Each to his or her own, and I appreciate that they give an awful lot of pleasure to many people, but not to me. I don't watch tennis either, guess I'm just not a sports nut. I do enjoy watching the rugby internationals though, and the occasional game of snooker but that's about it. As for cricket, olympics etc, well, not for me. And I have to agree that the payments made to some of these sporting superstars are scandalous.
K