Over the past month, it’s all anybody has been talking about. Whether in the work break room, enjoying a meal at a restaurant, or catching up with old friends, someone is bound to bring up the World Cup. As one of this year’s host countries, the USA is, understandably, buzzing with excitement.
We’ve seen something inspiring come out of this year’s matches. It’s not just about sports or rivalries, it’s about people coming together from all over the world and connecting to enjoy a common interest, share each other’s’ cultures, and unite as humankind.
I played on a soccer team from first grade into college. It was here that I learned what it meant to be on a team, and how each player had to do their job to achieve our team’s shared goal. Soccer was also where I learned the importance of coaches and mentors. These adults taught me lessons that applied not just to sports, but also to being part of a larger community.
Watching the World Cup while living in one of the host countries has been extra special to me. The last time the men’s World Cup was in the US was in 1994, when I was stationed in Italy. This year, I’ve watched the World Cup bring people together, right here in my own backyard.
For example, Japanese fans have been known to clean up the stadium after each game their team plays. Children in Japan are taught in school to clean their classrooms and hallways and make sure to leave places the way they found them. This tradition extends to competitions like the Olympics and the World Cup, solidifying their respected reputation as guests in other countries. After Japan’s recent loss to Brazil, Brazil fans joined their counterparts in tidying the stadium, a unique moment of unity after a heated competition.
Like Japan, other countries have also brought their homeland traditions abroad for the World cup. Norwegian fans are known for the “Viking Row,” in which the crowd mimics rowing ashore. But they aren’t just doing it in the soccer stadium: congregations of people have been seen doing the row in Times Square, in elevators in Boston, and even at a New York Mets game.
And we can’t forget about the Scots, whose arrival in Boston for Scotland’s first game of the World Cup brought a city makeover in the form of traffic cones placed on dozens of city statues. This lighthearted gesture is a nod to the Duke of Willington statue in Glasgow, which has donned a traffic cone since the 1980s.
Visitors have taken an interest in the US, fascinated by the convenience of Walmart, the beauty of our national parks, and the ingenuity of our various food items, like tater tots, barbeque, and most notably, ranch dressing.
In a world where politics generally dominates our relations with foreign citizens, finding commonalities and cherishing what makes each country unique has led to an explosion of international solidarity. Instead of criticizing each other online, we’re coming together in person to learn, grow, and enjoy the attributes of what makes humans so incredible.
While Big Brothers Big Sisters predates the men’s World Cup by 26 years, they both share important goals: striving as a team to accomplish a goal, achieving the best possible outcome for all involved, and supporting one another. The motto of the World Cup is “Football Unites The World.” And it does.
To me, it’s a truly inspiring tournament because it brings out the very best of people from countries all over the world. I’m very much looking forward to the Women’s World Cup in 2027 where we will unite again.
– Beach Pace, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest
