I love the World Cup! I have more than a few reasons to love it. In addition to filling half the day with games, highlights, and discussion about the tournament, I also benefit financially from it Well sort of ... I am in the business of selling soccer jerseys — among many other soccer items —and nothing will kick up sales more than a major tournament. 

The World Cup customer is my favorite type of customer. Nothing makes my day like someone walking in asking if we have the Algeria home jersey … or the Uruguay away jersey... or the South Korea anything. The more rare the request the more fun it is to track down. Especially these days, because most of the time I can say, "Yes, I have that!"

It was not always that way. It's only in the past five or six years that soccer has become so accessible to the common sports fan. Because of the coverage that the World Cup gets these days, Nike, Adidas, Puma, all want to slap their logo on anyone that has the slightest chance of qualifying. Which makes life easier for me and better for the fans.  

The jerseys that are bought tell me a lot about our region. For example, that there are pockets and networks of internationals right here. We sell jerseys of many of the popular countries you would expect like Italy, Spain, and Mexico. And because of the number of German clubs in Bucks and Montgomery counties there is always a good quantity of Germany shirts that go out the door (although some are not for soccer fans but people preparing their outfits for all the Oktoberfests in the fall). It might surprise you to know that there are a large number of Russian and Portuguese fans in the area. 

There is also a story in what will sadly end up on the sale racks at the end of the year because the countries missed out on qualification. Had Ireland and Ukraine made it to the tournament we would be sold out of their shirts already.

Wearing the jersey of your country is almost like an extension of your skin. The World Cup fan transforms at this time of year to be in unity with fellow country men and women. For the past three years they may have been Liverpool or Barcelona fans. But the national colors show their true loyalties. Their beloved Luis Suárez will show down with their beloved Steven Gerrard on the world's biggest stage. Many here would consider Ronaldo their favorite player, but now —as the World Cup opens— he is our country's greatest nightmare. 

You do not have a choice where your loyalties rest during a World Cup and for us that means we have to pull for the underdog in all three of our games.

The colors of the national team show most clearly when it comes to players on the field. It's almost impossible to understand the type of player a footballer is until you learn where he is from, where he was born, and who he plays for internationally. It is, in most cases, the second thing you learn about a player, after their age. When it comes to the relationships among players, it's easy to understand when two club players don't like each other because it's like any other job, and you can't like everyone. But two players on the same national team? I'd like to think they could never dislike one another. They are more like family. They are tied by their culture and their heritage the same way that their fans and supporters are. 

It's this type of shared tradition that the American fan is still developing. Our history and heritage, and more specifically our soccer history, has been so brief that it's difficult to relate to the passions of the rest of the world. I'll admit when I was younger my brothers and I would interrogate our parents about our family history to find out which country we would be able to latch on to, because we were almost certain to only be watching the U.S. team for three games. 

We are all optimistic at the beginning of the tournament. There is no other way to be. I think the U.S. team is going to make it out of their group. Why? Because I live here and it's no fun to expect anything less. There are 32 other countries that feel the same way. 

So if you are like me, and can never turn down the opportunity to start a soccer discussion, keep an eye out for those jerseys and test your knowledge. Get to know the other fans all around. You will probably be surprised and maybe even fascinated by what you learn.  

Matthew Scaccia likes a certain team from Manchester, hates the other. He has been a soccer player all his life, a soccer business man for  eight years and a soccer writer for two weeks