When in Roma... don't support AC Milan

I've come to the conclusion that I'm an adaptable person. Most people are -- I just think I have an extra-strong adaptability streak. Living in England, I have become so familiar with my internal "when in Rome..." monologue, that it has become an internal cliché. So too has the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" phrase.

Take, for example, my new-found enthusiasm for football. Three or four years ago, would I have ever imagined that watching the World Cup would appeal to me? No. But now here I am, pretty much every day, checking out minute-by-minute coverage on the Guardian Unlimited web site, and watching live coverage in the evenings. Why the sudden interest in football? I'll tell you.

A preamble: Football is known to some Canadians as "boot hockey", as in: "It's a shame about those Brits and their boot hockey -- it's too bad they're in too backward of a country to enjoy the sport as it should be played, with ice rinks, skates and sticks." Football is also known, of course, to more open-minded Canadians as "soccer."

I know I can't be objective, being a Canadian who never watched football on TV before 2005, but I still want to argue that football culture is a lot more difficult to penetrate than other sports cultures. The reason for this is because of its complexity. (In addition to English people's obssession with cult heroes and random sports trivia, but I digress). I've lived in England for more than a year and a half, and I still learn something about football everyday. And after 400-plus days of tutelage, I'm still hopeless. There are so many teams, cups, coaches, grounds, rules, sayings, songs and taboos that an outsider can't help but be hopeless.

Now, I've never been a massive sport enthusiast -- styling myself mostly as a creative type -- but I do like the way sport creates bonds. In this country, if someone supports the same football club as you, you've immediately got about forty hours worth of conversation to work with. I like that -- I want to have those resources. As an adaptable person, I don't want to sit in stoney silence as the guys at the office chat about football all day. I'd rather join in.

But it's not easy -- I've found myself asking loads of dumb questions, which probably gets on everyone's nerves, because it's the only way I can learn. Eventually, I will be able to make one or two intelligent additions to the conversation. In the meantime, I may get a laugh or two, and that's good enough for me. For now.

PS -- I reckon Italy look good for the Cup. They look speedy, and their strikers have the right instincts. But mostly, I just like their dramatics. Lots of pained and/or exhilarated expressions and arms flailing everywhere for no reason. (As a self-styled creative type, I've got to appreciate the most artistic team).

But those pesky Brazilians could shape up and steal the show. It's all up in the air, folks.