World Cup Epiphanies
The largest sporting event in the world is happening right now and likely hundreds of millions of soccer fans (or football to Euros) have travelled to North America to witness the World Cup matches firsthand. The venues are scattered amongst a number of host cities in Canada and Mexico but most notably, in the US. The biggest by-product of the World Cup is really its main feature, that is, to draw tourism into host nations.
For many fans, this was the first ever visit to the US and the reactions to their experiences have been the most viral thing on social media. There has been an explosion on Instagram and Tik-Tok by tourists expressing their amazement. One fan in particular, a Freddy from Germany, has documented his trip from the airport on the east coast through his journey across the US south to Houston on social media. He is shocked, literally shocked at the disconnect from what he’s been led to believe about the US versus his actual experience. Freddy is showcasing his real dose of American culture.
The sheer physical size of everything in the US is what seems to awe the tourists. The immense distances between places is unimaginable to Europeans accustomed to walking from place to place. As someone noted, you can drive for 17 hours and still not leave the state of Texas. Speaking of size, everything is bigger. Walmarts and Costcos are gigantic. The iconic Buc-ee’s , notionally a gas station in the south will have 120, yes 120 gas pumps and their in-store product selection of goods boggles the European mind. They realize that when someone says, “I’ve visited the US”, that it’s meaningless. The US is quite literally 50 different mini countries. It would be as if you claimed to have visited Europe if you’ve spent a week in Paris.
There are of course, some stereotypes which are true about America. There is always amazement at the iconic serving sizes of food at restaurants in the US. Regular portions would make main dishes in Europe look like finger snacks. Free drink refills. Ice. Air conditioning. Pleasant service people. A deep love of country. These are all common things to Americans, but an amazement to Europeans.
But the one common observation amongst all the social media posts is just how hospitable and genuine they found Americans. They are noted as being generous, welcoming and salt of the earth people. It’s certain that this is surprising to many because of the images perpetuated by decades of media representing them as redneck hayseeds who will shoot you at the most minor provocation. Of course, this is actually true in Northeastern states; fortunately, those were not the venue cities. In the south, tourists were welcomed with affectations of familiarity and hospitality, quite different from the experience they were expecting.
Our German tourist Freddy even discovered country music and the biggest country star at the moment, Ella Langley, even invited him to one of her concerts. Ella is by far the biggest star in the US. Only in America.
So, why is this so? The answer possibly lies with the fact that media, both domestic and international, have always portrayed the US as a cultural backwater and professing that their own nations were superior. Even the usually haughty British tourists were surprised at the experience they were not prepared for, with some expressing an interest in moving here. It brings to mind the old saw; from the perspective of a frog who lives in a well, the sky is only the circle of light that they can see above their heads.
It’s a bit surprising that only now, people are finally seeing for themselves a part of the world that had always been a caricature portrayed by media… and politicians. Whether in the US, or Canada, or Mexico, visitors have found out what the world is really like outside of their own well. They observe that people are the same everywhere and to harbor any misgivings about an entire nation based on hearsay is simply ill-informed propaganda.
So the takeaway is, go see for yourself; don’t pay attention to the propaganda spewed by media and politicians. Maybe this is the greatest epiphany to result from the World Cup activity. If nothing else, people can return home from their experiences here and think more expansively and critically about their own living conditions and how it compares to those of others in the big world. More importantly they should return with a renewed sense of skepticism over what they’re being fed at home. People should experience, not just believe. After seeing what’s out there, some are expressing on social media the now famous Ella Langley lyrics about their own nation, “ I can’t love you anymore”. It also brings to mind the observation made famous by the Tin Pan Alley song after the American soldiers served in Europe after WW1, but now in reverse. ” How ya gonna keep ’em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?”