This is an extra special time of year to be an American sports fan. In addition to attending the Miami/Dallas NBA series, thousands have also been following the exploits of Team USA under the guidance of coach Bruce Arena in Germany.

"I have definitely paid more attention this year than any other year," said Russell Johnson who made the trip to Miami from Vicksburg, Mississippi to catch game five of the NBA finals. "Soccer is getting more and more popular in the United States thanks to things like FIFA's video games."

A surge of interest in soccer

Many of the beach-front bars in Miami are hosting special World Cup parties and showing games live on big screen televisions. Waiters are decked out in jerseys of their favorite teams and souvenir shops in areas like "Little Haiti" and "Little Cuba" are selling World Cup merchandise.

Popular South Beach bars like the Clevelander, are wooing soccer fans with Happy Hour drinks and a breakfast special because many of the game are broadcast live early in the morning in the United States.

The surge of interest in soccer in the US may have been tempered by Team USA's far-from-brilliant performance in the World Cup opener when they went down 0-3 to the Czech Republic. But their improved form in their second action-packed game over the weekend when they held mighty Italy to a 1-1 draw has won it admirers.

Tough draw for the Americans

Basketball fan Austin Golding, of Vicksburg, Mississippi, said the Americans had a tough start because of their draw.

"We would have done a lot better if we hadn't had such a hard bracket," he said. "We did well against Italy hopefully we will pull it out."

The US, who have one point from two matches, next face Ghana on Thursday in their final Group E match and must beat the Black Stars in Nuremberg if they are to have any chance of reaching the last 16.

Miami police officer Barry DeRose boldly predicted the Americans would bounce back from their slow start and win the tournament.

"I watched some of the game against Italy and we gave it a good run," the 61-year-old DeRose said. "The American team is very energetic and even though they are the underdogs, they have the spirit and the heart to win it."

Many of the soccer fans at Sunday's NBA game were upset with the officiating in Saturday's game against Italy which saw three players being sent off. The Americans were down to just nine men when Pablo Mastroeni and defender Eddie Pope were shown red in the space of five minutes.

"There were a lot of bad calls against the US," said 19-year-old Bobby Rolland, who is a baker in Daytona Beach, Florida. "The official only made three good calls for the whole game. The first was the whistle to start the game, the second was the offside call that disallowed the goal and the third was the whistle to end the game."

US good, but no world champs

Edward Kaczmarski, of Ocean City, New Jersey, is cheering for the United States, but thinks Brazil will win the title.

"They are fun to watch and have a lot of talent," the 17-year-old said. "The US has some good players but they can't seem to put it together. They are not playing well because they look nervous."

But, it's obvious that it will take more than the ongoing World Cup for the sudden interest in soccer in the US to be an enduring phenomenon.

Joe Adkins, of Tallahassee, Florida, said he isn't paying much attention.

"I haven't watched much of it," he said. "There are just too many other things going on. I played soccer as a kid but I never followed it."

And interest in soccer in the US isn't just motivated by patriotic feelings.

Germany's Dirk Nowitzki would like nothing more than to win an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks and then head to Europe to celebrate a German victory in the World Cup.

"You know, they have a young team, and they have got a new coach that's trying to do some stuff," Nowitzki said of the German team. "I'm just sad that I can't be there to support the team and I can't really watch too much because I'm really focused on the finals. Hopefully we'll get to the final and that's July 9 and I'll be there."