World Cup Joy!

The World Cup is played every 4 years and dates back to 1930, when the first World Cup was played in Uruguay. This year, the United States is the host of 78 of the 104 matches. Canada and Mexico are hosting the others. This is only the fourth time we have hosted the tournament; we hosted the men’s tournament in 1994 and the women’s tournament in 1999 and in 2003. This year’s tournament started with 48 teams…some of the richest and poorest nations from all over the world. And even smaller countries like darling Cape Verde, a small island nation with a population of about 500,000 residents (about the size of Raleigh or Omaha), who made it to the knock-out round but narrowly lost to powerhouse Argentina, 3–2. The United States team lost in the knock-out round to Belgium (who then lost to Spain) but played well and showed great sportsmanship even in defeat. Estimates project over 5 billion people will tune in to watch the games which conclude with the finals on Sunday, July 19.

The play on the field has been fantastic, but we want to talk about the positivity and joy that the World Cup has brought us. The estimates vary, but the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg estimates that over 10 million people have come to the 11 host cities representing over 200 countries and territories. The economic impact has yet to be determined but will be sizable. But maybe more important, the buzz it has created has been astounding. These foreigners are seeing what we already know; people in the United States are warm and friendly…it’s part of our DNA! Here are a few examples of this:

• Algeria’s team played their matches in Kansas City and stayed at the DoubleTree Hotel in nearby Lawrence, Kansas. When the team returned there after clinching their place in the knock-out round, they were met by Lawrencians who stood side by side with Algerian fans to welcome the team back in the early morning hours. And the townspeople illuminated the Kansas night sky with a spectacular display of fireworks. This followed the initial greeting they got when the University of Kansas band played their national anthem when they first arrived.

• Providence, Rhode Island, welcomed the Ghana team by raising its country’s flag at City Hall and holding a concert at a nearby park. The team’s players couldn’t stop smiling and gushing about the hospitality they received.

• The Dallas Police Department and the DFW Airport Police welcomed Norway’s team to Dallas by surprising them and performing their now-famous “Viking Row.” The officers sat down and mimicked rowing a Viking ship in unison…the same celebration the Norwegian fans have made famous to celebrate the team.

• The bars in Boston (Boston!) reportedly ran out of beer when the Scottish fans made their way to this great city to celebrate their team.

• Some of the cuter news clips show fans loving everything “American,” from our wide-open national parks to their infatuation with Costco, Buc-ee’s, In-N-Out Burger, and Chipotle. As The Japan Times put it, visiting fans are discovering “a distinctive culture of 24-hour retail, free soda refills, chicken wings dipped in ranch dressing, and a warm welcome from Americans.” And they are fawning over yellow school buses, with some heard saying, “We thought those were just in the movies.”

• All over social media are stories of foreigners going out of their way to praise our country and our citizens. One German fan told CNN that back home he’d gotten “a lot of negative views about Americans in the last 5 years,” but had discovered “the people are amazing, so welcoming, the culture is amazing.” A young Englishman told a reporter, “The media portrays Americans as rude and lazy, and it couldn’t be further from the truth…the amount of hospitality and kindness…and the pride Americans have in their country is like no other country I’ve been to.” A cute TikTok video shows a British man lavishly celebrating Americans for their politeness and our good manners. A British woman about 20 years old was heard saying to anyone who would listen, “Anyone in the USA, adopt me, please!” A young Canadian said, “I would trade my passport for American citizenship without hesitating a second. Some states have no income tax. A young person here can compete and succeed.”

• Toledo has long known all about this hospitality. The first sister-city in the world was established by Toledo with Toledo, Spain, in 1931. Today, Toledo has 12 sister-cities around the globe, and as our Toledo Blade newspaper stated, “Toledo has nearly a century of experience building bridges that bring deep insight into the blessings we can become blind to without the vision shared by international friends who see us in light that illuminates our pride and gratitude to be American.”

The stories go on and on and are heartwarming and refreshing! As one of our favorite authors, Peggy Noonan opined recently in The Wall Street Journal, “These visitors confirmed something—that the American character still lives at the street level, in ordinary encounters. The generosity of Americans, our openness is exceptional!”

We agree…happy belated 250th birthday to the United States of America…still the shining city on the hill!