Soccer (football) is hideously huge in the U.K.
When you walk down the street in London, all the kids (and too many adults) wear EPL jerseys (usually Manchester United - which is odd because Chelsea is the popular local club in London). Go anywhere on a Monday, and the cab driver, newsagent - whoever - will invariably ask you if you saw the matches over the weekend. It is at this point that I would shrug, and pretend to be Estonian.
It's even bigger in Glasgow, where the two local teams - Celtic and Rangers - divide fans along religious lines. The Catholics cheer for Celtic, and the Protestants cheer for Rangers. When someone asks you "Which team do you support?" in Glasgow, you better have a good answer.
I've given soccer a chance. For a few seasons, I watched the games on Fox Soccer Channel - an American network that shows the U.S. league (a team for which is coming to beautiful downtown Chester, Pa), the English Premier League, and La Liga - a world-class Spanish league. Without exception, the thrill associated with these, for me, was akin to watching paint thicken. It's just like hockey - only worse.
However, English Football isn't all bad - just look at this clip.