1.   Aside from domed stadiums for football and baseball, no major American spectator sport has more intimate, larger indoor gatherings than NBA arenas.

2.   But other American fans, and some Europeans, detect a certain coolness toward the US team by American spectators.

3.   Officials have not disclosed the precise number of tickets available to American spectators.

4.   The decision was greeted mostly with jeers from both American spectators and hundreds of disbelieving German fans at the MGM Grand.

5.   The perception is that American spectators have trouble identifying with and relating to foreign athletes.

6.   The performance of the US side in that game may be the decisive factor in whether the World Cup captures the imagination of American spectators.