It actually is a beautiful game: The World Cup experience, as told by a casual

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Nearly three hours before the final 10-second countdown to USMNT and Bosnia and Herzegovina getting underway, fans began to line up to gain entry into what has been renamed "San Francisco Bay Area Stadium" for the World Cup. They wore long, flowing capes, dressed like Macho Man Randy Savage, carried inflatable eagles and dressed as America's founding fathers.

Sure, you can debate the politics behind FIFA, or outright dislike the organization itself. You can raise eyebrows at the strict branding rules that are stringent enough to rename the frickin' stadium in Google Maps. You can criticize the complex process to actually get tickets to a World Cup game as a paying customer without having to put down a second mortgage on your house.

But lets just be honest: The World Cup is, in fact, the most beautiful display of what is, in fact, a truly beautiful game. And those fans couldn't wait to experience it for themselves.

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The buildup to the World Cup felt a tad slow in the United States. But when the Scots landed in the USA, and when South Koreans cleared security in Mexico, social media was swept away with a phenomenon: people from different countries actually getting along. Vibing. Embracing one another. Like literally hugging. Even sharing full bottles of tequila with perfect strangers sporting kits of the enemy squad.

Yes, this was happening in 2026 - in a geopolitical climate filled with tension. In a social media climate filled with negativity and divisiveness.

Part of me didn't believe it was actually real. I wanted to experience it myself, and had the opportunity to do it with the World Cup coming to Santa Clara. Last week, it was Australia and Paraguay, whose fans enthusiastically cheered on their sides even though they were both essentially playing not to win or lose, but to draw.

Wednesday night, I went back to see the United States battle Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was everything USMNT fans could have hoped for, outside of a controversial red card given to star striker Folarin Balogun.

My experience covering the World Cup

I've been lucky enough to attend, or cover, a little bit of everything during my life as a sports fan and a sports journalist. In Levis Stadium itself - I mean San Francisco Bay Area Stadium - I've watched everything from Indiana and Utah play in the Foster Farms Bowl to a pair of Super Bowls, with halftime acts of Beyonce featuring Coldplay and Bad Bunny.

The 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship between Clemson and Alabama was the greatest collection of talent I've ever seen on a CFB field, played on a January night fit for a postcard.

None of those events matched up to what I saw Wednesday. None of them.

San Francisco Bay Area Stadium is 40 miles from the actual city of San Francisco. It's situated next to an amusement park and dozens of office parks diligently working to develop apps or self-driving cars.

There are cathedrals in sports, and then there are stadiums built for financial reasons that seem very miscast among there surroundings. Levis Stadium is the latter.

As one person, who has worked security at the stadium for five years and asked not to be named for the story, told me - "Levis ain't got that aura, fam."

Wednesday though, it didn't feel out of place. It felt natural. Despite the parking lots directly adjacent to the stadium being closed (in accordance with FIFA rules) the early arriving crowd was lathered up, ready to experience the beautiful game.

There was aura.

An hour before the game, people began crowding around, taking photos. Laughing, joking and trying to soak in the moment. Not discouraged by the $30 cocktails or $20 garlic fries. One fan carried a small child, wearing an adorable Cowboy hat, on his shoulders through the crowd around the concourse, seemingly just to get the experience.

Roughly 15 minutes before the game, as the teams took the pitch, flags were unfurled and the anthems of both countries played, police officers pulled out their phones and started filming. Security guards asked the police officers to take photos of them. Ushers asked fans to take their photos. Fans asked ushers to take their photos. Private chefs emerged from the suite level for a massive group photo with the field and the salt flats of the San Francisco Bay in the distance serving as an incredible backdrop.

"This is so f---ing cool, man" one of them said to me after he asked me to take his photo.

For those few minutes, everything just stopped and everyone soaked it all in. Truly, this is how sports should be. A moment, witnessed by everyone in attendance - shared by all, and truly never to be forgotten.

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The lasting impact of the World Cup in the United States

Ultimately, we've all read the op-eds and heard the talking heads debate this topic. If the USMNT makes history and wins the whole darn thing, will that increase the popularity, and ensuing international success, of soccer for the United States? Will Christian Pulisic become a first name superstar like LeBron, Caitlin or Shohei?

Let's simply answer that question with another question: why does it even matter?

The beauty of sports itself is those moments. We're conditioned to debate everything, unpack the inner meaning of postgame comments, decode subtweets, and glorify passive aggressive banter.

Like I said earlier: we really do live in a social media-fueled bubble of negativity.

So for the duration of the World Cup, my hope is that casuals like myself who are still trying to understand offside rules and diehard fans who hope for clinical passing and solid tactics from their squads, can truly just enjoy the games.

Don't worry about what it means long-term for soccer in the United States. Don't worry if Messi or Ronaldo will play in the 2030 World Cup.

Just enjoy the moment, because the moment is what makes the game beautiful.

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Why I hope this isn't my last World Cup game

When I was 14, I drove from Iowa to New Orleans with my dad to watch the Packers and the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The iconic image of a chubby Brett Favre ripping his helmet off running down the field after an Andre Rison touchdown? I'll never forget that as long as I live. It felt pure, it felt beautiful. It made me fall in love with sports, forever.

After the game, hundreds of Packers fans gathered in a fan club-sponsored tent to watch the Trophy presentation. Just as Mike Holmgren was being handed the Lombardi Trophy, a waiter tripped over a cord, which cut the power to the entire tent. A drunken, angry all-out brawl ensued, ending with my new Packers t-shirt (featuring the coolest Super Bowl logo of all-time) somehow bloody.

That was the ugly, terrible, embarrassing part of sports. I'll never forget that, either. Most sports fans have probably experienced similar moments they would like to forget.

The World Cup as I've experienced it feels so far removed from the bad and so close to sports nirvana.

Let's hope it continues all the way through the final stoppage time in New Jersey. Because a running clock for all to see isn't that fun anyway.

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