We all have friends who are not soccer fans but get into the World Cup whenever it comes around, and start asking us questions left and right. If you want to raise the level of your soccer banter with these friends during the World Cup, instead of having to explain the significance of a yellow card every time the ref shows one, then you need to hook your friends up with a copy of my book, The American Fan's World Cup Handbook, designed especially for the casual-to-ignorant soccer fan who is interested in watching the World Cup. It is available for just $6.99 at WorldCupHandbook.com. To give you a better understanding of what's inside, here is the book's introduction: "I wrote this handbook to help maximize the World Cup watching experience for the average American sports fan who doesn't really watch soccer except during the World Cup. Not long ago I was one of these average American sports fans. After high school I spent a few years abroad. As I was exposed to foreigners and foreign culture, I could not help but notice how big a deal soccer was considered. I was aware of the World Cup, like most Americans, but I had not been aware of the form of soccer played on a weekly basis. The first person to really talk to me in depth about this form of the game was a British roommate. Aside from teaching me a lot about the structure of soccer he also introduced me to a lot of soccer’s personalities. By January 2007, I had been back in the States for over six months, the 2006 World Cup a distant memory. I was still an average American sports fan, my soccer consumption still limited to just the World Cup. Then, an unbelievable headline ran across the ticker tape: “David Beckham signs to play in USA.” Now, I, as most sports fans, had heard of David Beckham. I knew he had played on some famous teams but I had no idea what was so special about him. I did comprehend, though, that it was a big deal for a player of his stature to be playing in the United States. I started learning about the fascinating legend of David Beckham and about soccer in the United States. The more I learned, the more questions I had. That is how I morphed from a typical American sports fan into an American soccer fan. Because I used to not be a soccer fan and a majority of my family and friends are not soccer fans, I have a good perspective of all that is confusing about soccer. If this handbook is used to its full potential, though, you will discover why soccer is called “the beautiful game” and you will seek out opportunities to watch soccer again before the 2014 World Cup. All World Cup games broadcast on the ESPN family of networks will be called by experienced British broadcasters who will primarily be catering to viewers familiar with the game. This approach is likely a response to the backlash from American soccer fans who were appalled at ESPN’s decision to cater to non-soccer fans in their presentation of the 2006 World Cup by assigning a baseball broadcaster to the most important games. The aforementioned British broadcasters are not going to dumb down the game by explaining how many yellow cards it takes to get a red card and what it all means. Having said that, I am sure you will enjoy the sophistication British broadcasters are known for, a certain quality you will not hear watching any American sport. Reading this handbook in advance of the World Cup and keeping it handy while you watch will help you keep up with the game and the play-by-play. To that end, I recommend, in particular, studying the American English – Soccer dictionary found in Appendix I and the list of vocabulary terms in Appendix II. Chapter I outlines soccer’s unique organizational structure. When trying to explain why soccer hasn’t gained a foothold in America, people often like to theorize that it is because Americans don’t understand a certain aspect of soccer that differentiates the game from the major American sports. As opposed to a single major aspect, my belief is that soccer has not yet reached mainstream status because of the complete collection of differences between soccer and the major American sports. Chapter II goes through a large amount of these differences in detail. Chapter III names some U.S. players you will see in South Africa. Chapter IV will walk you through the maze that is the World Cup and includes space to record predictions. In Chapter V, I provide some advice on how to retain all the knowledge you will gain from this handbook. Finally, do not overlook the appendixes, which include vital resources. Explanations of the italicized words in the text can be found in Appendix II."