Why Everyone Cares About This World Cup

The Daily

The 2022 World Cup in the U.S. has become a global cultural moment, showcasing unity, identity, and the power of sport amid geopolitical tensions. International fans and teams have found warmth and connection across American cities, revealing a more inclusive side of the nation. Despite political conflicts—especially involving Iran—many fans navigate complex emotions, balancing national pride with

Key takeaways

• World Cup fosters unexpected global unity
• American cities show surprising hospitality to international fans
• Iranian diaspora grapples with dual loyalty during wartime

Transcript preview

Messy running inside. Back out it goes. Lino Messy. Lino Messy. Lino Messy. First career World Cup hat trick ties the all-time goals going record. From the New York Times, I'm Natalie Kichroeth. This is the Daily. And there it is. It's Sterling Harlands. Two weeks into the World Cup, the most watched sports event on the planet has already broken records. Brilliant from Ampe, brilliant France lead. Magical. Hitting its highest attendance ever and generating the most goals scored in history. But one of the biggest stories of the tournament is happening off the field. I feel like I've been lied to my entire life about America. Like I'm in Florida, like I'm in Florida, This beach is insane, like just as good as Australian beaches. Is a wave of international visitors encounter in America they've never seen up close? How do you think of America, Texas is good? Everything is big. Ranch. I love ranch. I taste it here that it's delicious. And I take two bottles with home. And Americans encounter them and open their arms to the world soccer fans. there and think Americans are bad because every single person I've met that is American has been unbelievable. Today my colleague Tark Panja explains the magic and the complexity of this moment and daily producer Anna Foley talks to two fans in the middle of it. It's Monday June 29th. Tark, welcome back to the Daily. It's lovely to have you. Lovely to be back with you. So I have been watching the world cup it has been incredible the competition itself but also the amazing scenes that we have seen from fans from all over the world colliding with each other and this is the thing that you told us would happen when you were last on the show there is always this anticipation and anxiety that leads up to the world cup and then the games begin and it becomes this human experiment of what happens when you bring the entire world together around a sport. It does and tournament after tournament it gives us this brief moment of uplift of joy of people coming together and we're seeing it in places big and small here in the United States and I'm so pleased that people in this part of the world are able to experience this. And we should say this wasn't perhaps expected because there was a lot of angst around some of the geopolitical tension that was hanging over this. I mean, one of the host countries in this case, the United States, is literally in the middle of a war right now. And the US has even had beef with the co-host, Mexico and Canada. One of them, Trump has threatened to bomb and the other he's threatened to turn into the 51st state. So this wasn't straightforward. You're right. This wasn't straightforward at all. America's posture to the world has been one, which is kind of anti- to a tournament that is supposed to bring the world together and bring the world to it. This was a country that was talking about building walls, reducing immigration, sending people out, and for fans who were trying to come here, getting visas was proving very difficult. Then there was the question of ICE enforcement at the tournament, the possibility of that. And even on the cusp of the tournament, we had the situation with the referee from Somalia. of FIFA referees, someone on the list to work at this tournament, sent back to Turkey where he flew from. And that does give you a sense of dread if you are not someone who is sure they're going to be able to get into this country. But tournament starts. And we've seen wonderful images. We've heard wonderful songs. We've all heard anecdotes of things that only the World Cup can bring. when the world comes together. And so, Tari, despite the baggage, the good feelings began almost immediately. So tell us how that happened. Like, what actually shifted? What shifted? The people. It starts with these teams, 48 teams, in the biggest World Cup ever, and they have to choose base camps. Where the team will be staying between their matches in these enormous stadiums in these enormous stadiums in these cities. and where they tend to go are certainly not big cities. I'll give you some examples. Spain going to Chattanooga, and there is a phenomenon there called Lameen Watching. massive superstar after Messie and Rinaldo. And here we are seeing him go to a Walmart. Then we have Erling Harlan, who also has a claim to be one of the most famous people in the world. I've been eating healthy since I came to the US, and now enjoy some American food. He's with Norway, in Greensboro. How cool is it to have Norway in Greensboro, North Carolina? It's awesome. It's epic. But the best example of the one that is almost the cutest is what happened when the Algerian team arrived in Lawrence, Kansas. They prepared by getting the marching band of the University of Kansas to learn the national anthem of Algeria. choosing our hometown, Lawrence, Kansas, to come here and so welcome. This, I believe it's a college town, would never have had anything approaching this in terms of a global event. So far, everybody here has been very friendly and very welcoming and I'm really glad Algeria is going to be here. And one, two, three, Viva Algier. You see local people dressed in the Algeria jerseys. all rooting for this Algerian team. So I love to support them, you know, especially since they're in Lawrence, you know, like I'll support them. Right, okay, so you start to have this mutual excitement bubbling up on both sides, the teams and the Americans that are receiving them, and then there's a next wave that comes, right, when the fans of these teams, begin to arrive. Talk to me about that. Now this is my favorite part. This is where fans from every corner of our world arrive full of hope, full of cheer and just ready to have fun meeting each other and showing their colours, they're showing their songs and we've seen that. We've seen images of... Norwegian Viking Road taking over New York and New Jersey, including an escalator where you have Norwegian fans sitting down and rowing as it takes them into the subway system. Yeah. There are buses that have been organized by the city of Dallas to take fans to various points of interest. I love it. But the one that's proved more popular than most has been the trip to Bucky's. This is a gas station. This goes on for miles and miles and miles. Gotta get to Bucky's. I agree with that strategy. And the guys behind the counter like they do a sing song. What is this place? I can stay in here forever. We've also had all of these stories of fans, whether they're French, Japanese or... from anywhere else trying American food and actually liking it. Hot French fries in a chocolate milkshake that shouldn't work but that's actually really good. Texas barbecue seems to be a big hit at the moment. I love it! The Philly cheese steak. A national delicacy. A national delicacy. I love Viv if I love cheese. A perfect combination. I love. I love. I love. I love beef. I love cheese. It's a perfect combination. And then. Scotland. What can we say about the Tartan army? The name the Scottish fans are best known by. What's been the most Bostonian thing you've seen or witnessed? There's got to be Samuel Adams, the beer. A couple of guys don't like it, but I think it's quite nice. They hadn't been to the World Cup since 1998. Right. And they really have made up for lost time, haven't they? The Bostonians are something. special, honestly. The people of Boston will never forget the days the Tartan army invaded their city. And obviously drank the city dry, but all in good cheer. We went from regular Boston to all