nyone who’s anyone knows what “FIFA” is, plain and simple.

But for that to be true, FIFA—which stands for Federation International (de) Football Association (which few non-soccer fans likely know)—must refer to the best-selling soccer video game.

For whatever reason, a sport that really hasn’t taken a firm hold on the American entertainment front is far more popular in the video game field.

I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to who have never watched a single European soccer match on television and yet have played FIFA countless times.

Why is that?

Well for starters, the geniuses at EA have marketed the product brilliantly, and as a result, over the last five years or so, the popularity of FIFA has grown exponentially.

The latest installment of the EA Sports masterpiece, FIFA 12 (released in September), touted ad campaigns that included more mainstream American athletes, such as Tim Lincecum, Steve Nash, Landon Donovan and the overly-arrogant but undeniably attractive USA women’s soccer symbol Hope Solo.

But besides the added appeal provided by the notion that “everyone” is supposedly playing the game, what has made FIFA so popular here when soccer itself is far from it?

Hopefully, it’s the beginning of a new age in American feelings on soccer. I can’t find a single pertinent reason for the game catching on so rapidly in the last half-decade, which leads me to believe, possibly unrealistically, that soccer is beginning to actually grab the attention of U.S. viewers for more than just the World Cup.

With FIFA ’12 being considered a serious candidate in the running for the highest selling sports video game ever, common fans are becoming more and more exposed to some of the teams, players and nuances of a game that has long been one of the least desirable for us “Yanks.”

With the 2012 European Championships—held in Poland and Ukraine—set to kick-off in June of 2012, the American sports nation finds itself at a crossroads.

It can either continue its unexpected hike in European soccer interest, thus leading the country towards a more balanced view on the game.

Or. It can cease the progress it has made in the soccer arena and return to its previous ways. With the NBA lockout in full swing now, I’m attempting to remain optimistic, theorizing that less sports on TV will, in a way, force audiences to watch a delayed English Premier League match on Fox or to change the channel to billiards (score).

I’m not one for getting my hopes up, but if FIFA’s skyrocketing popularity is any indication, the U.S.A may be on its way to gradually evolving away from its lone wolf status in terms of soccer fanship.