Remember when sports was a refuge from politics and the real world? Where strangers from all walks of life gathered to escape and cheer (or boo!) for the home team?
Well, for a few weeks this summer…sports was that again. North America hosted the World Cup. And it was wonderful.
- Nobody kneeled during a national anthem
- Nobody bloodied an opponent in the name of white privilege
- Nobody wore a MAGA hat during the postgame interview
- And no team owners were seen swearing at teenage girls for their tee-shirts
People from all corners of the globe celebrated competition, victory, their teams, and their countries.
Nowhere was the energy more palpable than at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
I had the opportunity to attend the Mexico-Ecuador knockout match at the world-renowned Azteca when a childhood friend convinced me it would be a bucket-list experience worth the cost.
He was right. Just a few of the countless highlights:
- When it was time for the national anthem, it sounded like a stadium full of Mexican Roger Daltry’s belting at the top of their lungs
- The serenading didn’t stop there…early on the entire crowd broke into an impassioned rendition of the 1882 Mexican folk song “Cielito Lindo” (ay, ay, ay, aye…canta, no llores)
- Two first-half goals each resulted in 80,000+ fans drenched in a CAT 5 beerstorm (city officials claimed the first goal registered seismic activity on the Richter scale)
- Over a million Mexican fans poured out onto the streets to celebrate after the victory
Even more impressive was how Mexicans treated the English fans in their next match after Mexico was eliminated, losing a heart-breaking 3-2 decision in the same Estadio Azteca. Social media blew up with emotional British tourists moved by the sportsmanship and hospitality by their counterpart Mexican fans.
And of course, testimonies flooded social media with foreign World Cup travelers gushing at all the wonders they discovered while in America – most of all the warm and friendly hospitality of Americans.
More of this please! Maybe it’s too late for sports to return to that. But one can always hope.
