Make Every Day The World Cup Moving Forward
”It’s what we all want in our lives every day and we have to find a way to create World Cup every day in our life to bring that much joy. To ourselves personally and to everybody else we’re connected to, and Atlanta’s done a great job of doing that”.
These are the words of Arthur Blank who is the owner of the Atlanta Falcons. His stadium hosted several World Cup matches. I don't think I've ever heard a more profound and eloquent line from any current figure in American sports, modern politician, or an Imam.
The conclusion of the World Cup is a bittersweet moment. England fell short in the semifinals, breaking my heart. It didn't come home, but the Three Lions redeemed themselves in a loose and fun match against France for third place winning 6-4. Spain’s defense completely shut down Argentina in the finals as they captured their second World Cup in history. I watched matches at home, at bars, and with Muslim friends. Wherever I was there was a spirit of joy.
For Americans, the World Cup, and soccer in general, can serve as an education and a passport to the world. As a kid, I didn't learn American geography in the classroom or the textbooks, I learned it in the sports pages and watching sports on television. This isn't unique to soccer. I've known boxing fans who use the sport as a way to learn about the different US cities boxers come from and countries they hail from. Following a fight can be accompanied by immersion via YouTube videos and even books. Fans who follow wrestling have known about Dagestan for years and boxing fans know Cinco de Mayo weekend, Mexican Independence weekend, and the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York will bring big fights.
Soccer is the most international of all sports. So, as I watched matches at The Pitch, Halftime Pub and Grill, Beffa's, and at the home of Indonesian students, I was exposed to an international crowd. This doesn't negate the special nature of uniquely local experiences, such as rooting for Cardinals baseball, but it's a time when Americans can shed our parochialism and appreciate the world. Nowhere was this more visible today than in south St. Louis where they closed the street to make room for the overflow crowd at the Amsterdam Tavern.
American news broadcasts often have no international coverage at all. Print media has scaled back international coverage dramatically and fewer and fewer Americans are reading. A large percentage of Americans don't have passports or have any interest in international travel. As a consequence of all of this, Americans tend to know very little about the world. This is true of those in red states and blue states and Democrats and Republicans. My hope is that this World Cup served not only as a tool of education for Americans, but that it also sparked curiosity in reading international translations, nonfiction about things outside of our borders, consuming social media content from creators not based in the US, and a desire for international travel.
I would also hope that this World Cup would serve as an advertisement for the American people to the world. We aren't the caricature we are made out to be in the European press. Americans are generally friendly and helpful to tourists. In this one country you can experience the beautiful beaches and sunsets of California, the national parks of the West, the BBQ of Texas, the open roads of the Midwest, and the vibrancy and diversity of our major cities. Our stadiums are second to none, the world really loves AC, and people who came here had a great time. I would hope that they leave the US with a favorable impression.
This doesn't mean we don't have serious issues. Our violent crime is the highest in the developing world, public order is often non-existent in places like St. Louis, there is a decreasing respect for elders, public transportation is lacking, and our infrastructure is crumbling. A World Cup in Saudi Arabia or Qatar will certainly be much safer and a World Cup in Europe will certainly have much better transportation options. But can hundreds of Norwegians row in Walmart in unison?
I also believe that events like the World Cup are often more educational than anything a kid will learn in school and more spiritually fulfilling than a service at a mosque, synagogue, or church. Ask a Spaniard when is the last time they left Mass as excited as they were after winning the World Cup?
This past Jummah the Imam discussed the World Cup. He generally tried to convey the message that Islam isn't against sports and he personally liked soccer; but don't let it interfere with religious and family duties or cause beefs between you and the supporters of other teams. Wise words.
My personal experience has been that most religious and political fanatics I've known have hated sports. They think it's a waste of time. People should be busy living in daily fear they're going to Hell or trying to memorize what Abu said to Abdul 700 years ago so they can argue some meaningless theological point on Facebook or in a Whatsapp group. One Imam was complaining students seemed less interested in his pay to learn religious travel scheme, because they were too busy watching the World Cup.
The political fanatic is similar. In America these can be divided into three categories. The snobby urban liberal who has a disdain for sports fans who they see as unsophisticated and unintelligent rubes. Anytime NPR or PBS has to cover a sports story this disdain is likely to come through. The second is the leftist fringe who were once fringe, but now on the cusp of changing the Democratic Party. They see sports as capitalist, hyper masculine, and interfering with people's ability to focus on the revolution. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani was very intelligent to distance himself from this sentiment as he fully embraced the New York Knicks during their championship run and gave interviews in which he professed his love of soccer and considerable knowledge of the sport. These interviews conveyed a sentiment that many Mamdani critics and supporters won't catch- you don't have to be a weirdo or a theater kid to support my political movement.
Conservatives generally show a greater interest in sports, but on the right-wing fringes there is an increasing disdain for teams or athletes of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities and what they see as the interjection of wokeness into sports.
So, as I close, I think about the wise words of Arthur Blank. How do we make every day the World Cup? Because tomorrow tens of millions will be returning to jobs they either hate or barely tolerate, economic problems, and family drama. Not every day will see a devout Catholic like Ferran Torres kick a game-winning goal and Lamine Yamal dropping to his knees in Muslim prayer for the glory of Allah and Spain.
I will try to make every day the World Cup. I've just finished a really good book and I'm reading another now. Reviews will be coming. There are films to watch and upcoming trips. And, yes, there is a pretty hot election coming up for us St. Louisans.