It all starts on June 9th in Germany, the 2006 World Cup. Forget Red Sox and Yankees, this is nation versus nation on a world stage. It’s potential matchups like USA v Iran (though not likely to happen this year) that make these games a bit more meaningul than an ALCS game.

I know it is fun to bash on soccer now and again, especially if you haven’t played, or don’t get it, but trust me, try and catch some of these games on TV next month…there is nothing like it.

I think it was my brother and his friends that came up with the “fan score” for rating the people that sit around you at a sporting event. It is a simple system where standing and cheering when Schilling has 2 strikes on a batter with 2 outs in an inning is a plus, and wearing a pink red sox hat and referencing Fever Pitch is a minus. Yah, it’s a little arrogant, but fun all the same. That being said, Bill Simmons had a great run down of the eight responsibilities that a fan has during a baseball game. I thought this was well said, and it reminded me of the “fan score”.

You only have eight responsibilities during a baseball game: Take your hat off for the National Anthem; don’t take your shirt off; don’t bring your baseball glove if you’re over 13; don’t wear a jersey with your own name on it; don’t run onto the field; don’t reach into the field of play to grab a pop-up or ground ball if it could adversely affect your team; don’t boo one of your own players unless it’s absolutely warranted; and don’t throw up. That’s it. Everything else is up to you.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, reading a book from 20th row center court seats at a Celtics game…yah, thats hall of fame bad fandom. Not to mention that these people showed up 8 minutes into the first quarter, and left 2 minutes into the 4th quarter when Paul Peirce and Carmelo Anthony were participating in a Bird/Wilkins like back and forth in a tight game.

Be a good fan.