Not since endorsing horse slaughter have I received so many angry emails from readers of this blog as I have in response to my recent posts about the lamentable American soccer team. Really, American soccer fans need to lighten up; the anti-horse-slaughter crowd had a much better sense of humor. Also, fans might want to channel some of their energy and passion into more enlightened causes than soccer, such as ending world hunger and homelessness.

Given the flood of emails, I feel compelled to write a short reply.

Many of the recent emailers have attacked me for rooting for Brazil because it is such a strong team. “Wow, it must be tough to root for the best team in the world. Way to go out on a limb there…frontrunner. You remind me of kids I went to school with that suddenly were Bulls or Cowboys fans,” one wrote. Others said that rooting for Brazil was as disgusting as rooting for the New York Yankees.

Here’s the truth: I do root for the Yankees. I love Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter in particular.

And that’s it from me. You can keep writing but not another word from me on the topic until the U.S. is, inevitably and joyfully, eliminated in the first round of the 2010 World Cup.