Tremendous football on the field, but that’s nothing new. Off the field, the sights were spectacular. Here’s why.
The World Cup is designed and expected to be shared with the world by the host country as the best of what football, and all its emotional baggage, has to offer. FIFA’s 2026 World Cup, hosted by Mexico, Canada, and the United States, is no different, sharing a panoply of emotions that has left an indelible imprint on fans’ minds.
Yet it was off the field, rather than on, that left such a lasting memory. We witnessed and participated in how football (soccer) can unite the world in a positive manner. Not by FIFA’s morally pedantic approach, but by regular fans who encouraged a tsunami of joy.
Three small countries seized the world’s imagination: Scotland, the Netherlands, and Norway.
From The Boston Globe, reprinted in The Scottish Sun
Though the Scots like to give the impression of being revelers as they drank Boston dry and made sure their narcoleptic chant, “No Scotland. No Party!” became part of the local vernacular, City officials surprisingly discovered how accommodating the Tartan Army was, how integrated they were with the community, and their readiness to be philanthropic.
In Boston, they raised and donated $30,000 to local charities, including funding for a children’s hospital. The Boston Globe had a full-page ad thanking The Tartan Army for giving so much goodwill and spirit to a city that needed it. Boston mayor Michelle Wu initiated a “sister city partnership” with Glasgow.
Wu praised the Scottish fans for being a “mayor’s dream” by cleaning up after themselves, prompting the city to open two downtown social districts for outdoor drinking to satisfy the Scots’ insatiable thirst. The media also highlighted the Japanese fans and players for their impressive cleanliness and orderliness. Wherever the Japanese appeared, it was cleaner when they left.
The Dutch transformed the streets of Houston and Kansas City into a sea of orange as far as the eye could see. It wasn’t a riot, a protest, or pandemonium; it was the world’s largest dance fest. The Dutch introduced their iconic dance, Links Rechts (or LeftRight), which sparked a craze across America as if it were the Second Coming!
The Dutch fans brought a massive economic and cultural boost by spreading their praise for what they experienced: Americans’ hospitality and friendliness, the enormity of food selections, the size of restaurant dish orders, the openness of the cities, the size of the trucks, and an observant appreciation for Americans’ patriotic pride.
Norway! (photo courtesy Boulder Daily Camera)
Local business owners applauded Dutch enthusiasm as “a once-in-a-lifetime” tourism surge. Norway’s “Viking Row” encourages everyone to row with it.
Even Norwegian politicians in parliament were rowing to the beat. All three nations’ participation was contagious, leaving a void after they departed from each city.
Unfortunately, Scotland, the Netherlands, and Norway were vanquished in the quarterfinals. The end was particularly sad for Norway, which hadn’t been to the World Cup since 1978. They seemed destined to go further, especially with their prized striker, Erling Haaland, a seminal player with some of the most epic goals.
But even with his statuesque Viking looks, his towering height, strength, flowing golden locks, and commanding presence, he seemed anonymous in the match. Leading 1-0 over England, Haaland had an opportunity to score the closing goal if his teammate, Sorloth, had passed the ball to him. Instead, Sørloth ignored the obvious and wasted a shot.
Norway’s departure felt like all the air had been let out of the tournament’s balloon. Norway’s participation in the Finals would have boosted emotions and media ratings through the roof as a potential Cinderella story — something, I might add, that FIFA, an organization stigmatized and accused of corruption, desperately needed.
FIFA probably predicted a profitable World Cup Final, hoping for last year’s UEFA Cup Champions, Spain, to face a deified Messi in his last World Cup match, representing the last World Cup winners, Argentina.
It all seems too predictable: Messi, regardless of whether he wins or not, is awarded the Golden Boot for Most Valuable Player in the Tournament, when it really should be bestowed on Cape Verde’s venerable 40-year-old goalkeeper, Vozinha. Cape Verde, a small country on the coast of Western Africa, is better known for its pristine beaches, fishing, and laid-back Creole culture than for facing formidable football titans.
What was truly astonishing was their triumph as the only team to tie Spain in the first round, thanks to Vozinha’s performance. It is the unpredictability of what happens on the pitch that makes the World Cup so exciting.
But this year, it was fan involvement that truly united the world. It is a beautiful sport, indeed.
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A writer/photographer, Clive Branson, resides in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
