I started my day by crumpling up about six different rough drafts for my blog regarding the World Cup. It is a bit frustrating since I have been trying to piece my thoughts together for a couple of weeks, but I suffered from a little writer’s block—topped with a good sprinkling of procrastination. When I finally put pen to paper again, I found that I couldn’t capture my feelings any better than my friend Troy Zehnder did in his blog. So, I’m going to accept the fact that the best I can do is: (A) re-post a link to Troy’s World Cup blog, (B) thank a few thousand people, and (C) capture a few of my thoughts and questions that fall outside the scope of Troy’s work (e.g., the intersection of sports and politics).

First, if you haven’t read Troy Zehnder’s blog on the World Cup, I highly recommend it. It can be found at: https://tzehnder.net/2026/07/03/the-world-cup-chronicles-when-the-world-shows-up-in-person/.

Next, here is my “Thank You” to all of the residents of Seattle, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and the other cities that hosted a World Cup match in the U.S. Whether buying a round of drinks, providing directions, participating in chants and songs, showcasing the highlights of our culture, or simply being a friendly American face in the crowd, I believe most of the visiting players and fans are going to depart with a positive view of our country and its people. That is certainly no easy task, considering that politics and the media are often at the forefront in providing the first—and sometimes only—impression for tourists. Despite those political and media-driven first impressions, you still ensured that most of our guests had a great experience and are headed home seeing America in a brighter light.

Finally, a little food for thought.

1. If a member of the Tartan Army had fallen while putting an orange cone on the head of Paul Revere, or a Norwegian fan threw out his back while performing the Viking Row, would they be better off in a U.S. hospital or using their native healthcare plans after returning home?
2. Why does bread in the U.S. last for nearly two weeks before becoming stale, yet barely two days in Europe? [This may not be World Cup-related, but if soccer fans are concerned with unlimited refills, then I’m free to ask about bread.]
3. Who handled questions of a player’s nationality better?

France: When Paraguay said that the French team was “a squad from Africa,” French leadership responded by saying, “The French team is known for its diversity, and many of its players, such as Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, are the children of immigrants from Africa.”

or

U.S.: While Folarin Balogun, a birthright citizen of the U.S., played for the men’s national team, the Trump administration was busy challenging the Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship decision.

4. I’ll skip the question here and simply say that we failed to take the high ground in our treatment of the Iranian team.

In 1936, the Olympics were held in Germany. For Germany, this was going to be a chance to show the world the superiority of the Aryan race. On the first day of competition, Hitler shook hands with the German gold medalists and the Finnish athletes, but he left before shaking the hand of African American gold medalist and high jumper Cornelius Johnson. Hitler was told by the president of the International Olympic Committee, Henri de Baillet-Latour, that he could either congratulate all the gold medalists or none of them. For the remainder of the Games, Hitler chose to honor no one.

As the Iranian Men’s National Team left the U.S. following its elimination from the World Cup, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, “I’m just glad they’re done, and they’re not coming back… I was so happy when we were able to pull their visas and said they could leave U.S. soil, and I might’ve sung a song or two or maybe even danced a happy dance.”

Maybe, “We look forward to future matches,” would have worked better. Or, if he couldn’t find a tactful response, a simple “No comment” would have sufficed.

[On a side note, if you want to see a great movie set during the 1936 Olympics, watch The Boys in the Boat. There is also an excellent PBS documentary on four-time gold medalist Jesse Owens of Ohio State, available on Amazon Prime.]