Yes, I have been watching the World Cup games, though I must admit that I was often reading the paper while doing so. Soccer is still a bit of an enigma to me and to many fellow Americans, as well. I had a long career as a player: eighth grade. To be brutally honest, the game has too much “keep away” in it. Too many draws, not enough attacking and not enough scoring. I still feel that offside in soccer is the worst rule in all of sport. Many sports allow and even strategically encourage players to get behind the defense and even the goal. Basketball, lacrosse, hockey (two kinds), and American football, to name a few. However, it is the most popular sport in the world, and at its best it is indeed the beautiful game. The passing is simply gorgeous, and I have always been more enamored with passing than scoring as both a player and a coach.
Scotland’s tartan Army really bonded with Bostonians as they marched in their kilts playing their melodious bagpipes at all hours and drinking dry bars in both Boston and Miami. Their chant was: “No Scotland, no party.” They marched en masse to Scottish Celebration Night at Fenway Park and decorated statues with traffic cones. Good clean fun. In praise of his American hosts, Cameron Caswell of Oxton, Scotland, proclaimed: “Anyone who can beat the English is a friend of Scotland.” He was referring, not to soccer, in which England’s team is highly regarded, but to the Revolutionary War. Local Bostonians were thoroughly charmed by them and the question on many sets of lips: How do we get the Scots to stay? Boston Mayor Michelle Wu boasted in an interview: “There is nowhere you can go in the city right now without seeing someone in a kilt. It has been absolutely delightful.”
Norwegians have supported their team with their iconic “Viking row,” heaving back and forth in synchronicity while chanting, “Ro.” They have rowed in stadiums in Boston and East Rutherford, New Jersey, and in Times Square. Back home, Norwegians rowed in schools and nursing homes and even in Parliament, where lawmakers joined in. After Norway’s victory over Senegal, the team did the row, with team captain Martin Odegaard leading them and beating a drum. There are some critics. Aleksander Schau, a soccer journalist, said he was happy that Norwegians have a good team, but called the row “an introvert’s nightmare.” The Viking connection was very intentional. According to Jonas Thomassen: “Since the World Cup is in America, we had to do something with the idea of Vikings returning to reclaim the continent they landed on long before Columbus.”
Other delights that our visitors have discovered consisted of things that we take for granted. Unlimited drink refills, good barbecue and a tremendous variety of fast-food restaurants. Waffle House was a favorite, as were Walmart, Costco, ranch dressing, hotel ice machines, and unlimited chips and salsa. They were amazed at the portion sizes. One woman said she didn’t know how big a pizza would be, so she ordered seven. Oops. Their delight and wonder reminded us of how lucky we are. And we are friendly. That discovery alone dispelled the global rumor that we are just a bunch of loud and obnoxious tourists.
I loved reading American academic and author Scott Galloway’s description of the World Cup as “a giant sleepover with the United States.” What a great way to sum it up.
I am so glad that I have watched and followed this World Cup, even as an observer. Any event that brings that many people together and is not a war should be admired indeed.
Jim Cross is a retired Fort Lewis College professor and basketball coach living in Durango. Reach him at [email protected].