zzzzzzz- soccer on

I watched the first half of the USA-Mexico match. Maybe it's me but I don't get the attraction. Whenever I hear about how much running they do I scratch my head. There are short bursts of speed but there is a lot of standing around. Go watch a basketball game and each player is moving a lot more. Now I know there are timeouts but I think individuals move more in basketball. Can anyone explain the attraction?