My recent sporting event experience was incredible.

The “March to the Match” that started from Occidental Park and ended at Qwest Field was so different than any pregame experience I had ever experienced, yet felt so right. The raucous crowd was loud and on the edge of their seats — many standing — for the entire game, and the garlic fries made the whole experience complete.

No, I’m not talking about a crucial Mariners game, nor am I talking about the last Seahawks home game.

I’m talking about last Saturday’s soccer match between the Seattle Sounders and the Columbus Crew.

Saturday’s football match left me wondering how this country could disregard one of the world’s most exciting and entertaining sports.

I started to realize how exciting the soccer match experience was the minute I made my way to Occidental Park. When I saw hundreds of Sounders fans donning green and blue and heard the powerful Sound Wave marching band, I immediately felt that special buzz of an intense sporting event.

Inside the stadium, the 29,000-plus Sounders fans in attendance didn’t allow a single seat to go unfilled. As the sun began to set, soccer was just getting started.

The Crew started off the match with a quick goal in the first 10 minutes. The surprised response around the stadium reminded me that even though soccer lacks continuous scoring, it’s that exact aspect that makes the game so intense; every goal is that much more important and crucial.

Halftime came unexpectedly quick. When I find time to watch a match on television, the 45-minute halves feel like an eternity. But when you’re experiencing it firsthand, you don’t even notice how fast the game goes. It’s not constant scoring, but it’s constant excitement.

After a 58th-minute blast by forward Nate Jaqua tied the match, the intensity picked up. As questionable fouls led to boos from the crowd, the final whistle blew, and the match, unfortunately, ended in a tie.

But as I took some time to soak in what I just witnessed, I realized the soccer-match experience is everything you would want in an exciting sporting event. The pregame excitement, combined with the intensity of the fans and the players, is something you can’t match at other regular-season sporting events.

And the fact that I’m getting this excited over an MLS game is something in itself. The level of play is amateur if you consider the competitiveness worldwide.

If you watched the UEFA Champions Cup League Final last week, you were granted a special screening of some of the world’s top soccer competition. If an MLS game can get me this excited, I have no idea what the level of competition and craziness is like at a Barcelona vs. Manchester United match.

It’s time we step back and see that soccer is a sport that needs to be given more attention, and at the very least, a chance in the United States. I understand that the MLS doesn’t offer the best soccer in the world, but it’s the best we have.

I challenge you to attend a Sounders game this year for a sneak peak at one of the most beautiful games in the world. You’ll have a hard time telling yourself that it wasn’t one of the better sporting events you’ve ever attended.

Maybe, just maybe, you might even start liking this football better than pigskin.

Reach columnist Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.