You can tell that Kansas City soccer haters are feeling threatened by all this attention on the local team and its new stadium.

Forced to acknowledge the existence of a sport they refuse to understand, sports snobs are making with the jokes about soccer being pointless and dull.

“Like watching a marble roll around in a box,” one co-worker said.

Ha, ha. Very funny. Though I might add that the only thing more exciting than a baseball no-hitter is a coma. Then there’s pro football. What with all the commercials, timeouts and replay challenges, the games last nearly as long as that condition they warn guys about in the Cialis commercials.

Only minus the stimulation.

Actually, I enjoy baseball, football, hockey and most of the rest of the major and minor sports.

All have pluses and minuses. Golf takes great skill to play well, but I tend to nod off watching it on TV. Likewise, basketball has its thrilling moments, but mostly in the final period. All the previous running up and down the court is so much exercise.

People tell me they think soccer is boring because there’s not enough scoring. Or they don’t like games that can end in a tie.

But there are good reasons why the rest of the globe likes their football. Take Thursday night’s scoreless draw, for example.

We’re in the 85th minute. Sporting KC is desperate for a goal. We all are.

To read the complete column, visit www.kansascity.com.