London — despite its global dominance, soccer remains a casual spectator sport for most Americans. I am quick to admit that I am certainly someone that falls into that category of a “casual” fan.

Even as a life-long sports fan, soccer has always been sixth on my list of sports that interest me the most behind baseball, American football, basketball, hockey and golf. This casual spectator state of mind comes from the fact that I stopped playing the sport at a very early age and never regretted it once. Another comes from the most basic reason that the sport isn’t that well recognized in the states and most American sports fans couldn’t care less about the MLS.

Over the past few years I have slowly but surely become more interested in the game because of stars like Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney and events like the World Cup in South Africa. But it wasn’t until my first live experience at Wembley Stadium last night that I really felt moved and taken by the sport that the world adores the most.

From the time I got off the tube before the game to the time I got back on the tube after the game, my experience at an International Friendly between England and Ireland was truly one of the most unique sports experiences of my life and something I will remember long down the line.

In the States, we call International Friendlies “exhibition games”, which in basic terms means the games means absolutely nothing. Because of that athletes in US sports do not take these games seriously and most of the time the best players only play for a short period of time before putting the backups in. On top of that fans of teams only pay attention for a short period of time and usually leave halfway through. Friendlies are a lot different.

The England and Ireland fans were so emotionally invested in the action that it felt as if I were at the Super Bowl or World Series. Chants were starting, fights were breaking out and national pride was on display. It was a remarkable experience coming from someone who has been to plenty of marquee sporting events.

That being said it still seems that most football fans care even more about their how their club team does rather than their national team, which after last night seemed impossible when I saw all the passion on display. I guess that’s why a majority of the world loves this sport far and away more than any other.

My night at Wembley, a stadium that I once considered relevant only because American football plays one game a year at, helped open my eyes to the endless passion and love that fans show for this sport.