Football may be the most popular sport in the United States, but the rest of the world is much more concerned with a different type of football. The sport we call soccer is growing in the United States, and with the World Cup kicking off this past weekend in South Africa many people connected to the NFL enjoying watching “The Beautiful Game” this off season.  Peter King of Sports Illustrated (arguably the top NFL writer in the country) even made the trip to South Africa and wrote a World Cup edition of his Monday Morning Quarterback column. On his twitter account, Chad Ochocinco commented about Messi, the US’s young striker Jozy Altidore, and shared some of his pics of himself with some of his favorite “footballers” like Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees tweeted he liked what he saw from the US team in their historic 1-1 tie against England in Rustenberg. Brees’ teammate Darren Sharper even made the trip to South Africa. Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals celebrated US goal with a  “#USA yesssssssss!!!!!” chant and reminisced about playing goalie in grade school. Tony Gonzalez of the Atlanta Falcons tweeted “You got to love soccer…no commercials till halftime” while Packers’ QB defended his support of US Soccer urging fans to “show some love for that tie against one of the worlds best teams”. Minnesota Vikings kicker Rhys Lloyd and Englishmen even changed his twitter background to English national team’s Three Lions’ crest. With all this love for the World Cup in the NFL perhaps both footballs can exist in America.

New Orleans tight end Jeremy Shockey was hospitalized a week ago after experiencing “siezure-like symptoms”, but head coach Sean Payton says that his player was only dehydrated and was experience low blood sugar levels. Shockey played a crucial part in the Saints Super Bowl XLIV victory, catching a fourth quarter touchdown pass. The former New York Giant was cleared to practice on Thursday, but was held out of practice over precautionary back problems Shockey was experiencing. Shockey has been listed day-to-day. With 58 receptions and three touchdowns in 2009, Shockey looks to build on that success. The once-troubled star has fit in well in Sean Payton’s offense despite sharing his time with tight end David Thomas. The Saints open their season against the Minnesota Vikings on September 9th, 2010.