And this puts things in soccer's favor...how? How are ads even relevant if we're talking about the sports themselves? Seems like a pretty bad straw man.
In any case, you're preaching to the choir as my favorite sports to watch are basketball, tennis, rugby, and baseball. Two of which aren't even standard American sports and are EXTREMELY LONG. I like sports that are all about strategic placement (baseball, basketball, tennis, rugby) and agility/endurance (rugby, tennis, basketball) that have constant action. Baseball is an exception because of the pitcher/hitter duel, but makes up for it when you realize hitters are not just hitting in random spots, but centralized zones to get to that plate.
Slower sports such as golf, american football, and soccer don't do much for me. In fact, it's only recently I even learned how to watch football. Football is boring if you're eyeing the ball, but if you eye the center, where the linemen are aka where the ACTION IS, the game because a lot more interesting and fun to watch.