Seeing ourselves through World Cup visitors' eyes has been a much-needed balm
They're enthralled by America's vastness, beauty, diversity, generosity ... and ranch
Hello! A programming note: I’m heading out on vacation; the next Fast Forward will be the week of July 12. Be careful while I’m gone.
🔥 What’s it like outside? Pretty nice weather the next several days: mostly sunny with a breeze and temps in the high 70s to low 80s.
⚽️ Hey, sport: The MLB All-Star game is still a month away and the obits are already being written for this version of the 2026 Red Sox. They’re near the bottom of the American League standings with a record of 29-43, and even the players are expecting a selloff before the trade deadline Aug. 3. This piece by the Globe’s Peter Abraham says it all: Time to face facts: There’s no hope for these Red Sox. (🎁)
In the men’s soccer World Cup, the US won a critical match against Australia in Seattle yesterday and now heads to the knockout round.
💖 Europeans may not like our politics, but they really like our country — and us
They were nervous about coming to the States for the men’s World Cup matches being held here. Nervous about Border Patrol, nervous about police, nervous about guns.
And they’re going home vowing to return as soon as they can.
I’m sure you’ve seen the videos of the Tartan Army taking over Boston, singing and dancing on the Common, filling restaurants with shouts and chants, depleting every keg and can and bottle within 50 miles, pulling each other through Boston’s streets in the middle of the night on wooden pallets taken from Haymarket (and losing a couple of tipsy passengers along the way), climbing statues to place orange traffic cones on the heads of famous Bostonians (including Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and Bill Russell), piling onto a boat docked in the harbor to sing and celebrate, marching to Fenway Park with the pipes and drums playing “Scotland the Brave,” doing mad singalongs with every American and Scottish song the Fenway organist threw at them. (They invaded Providence as well.)
Don’t forget the red-and-blue sea of Haitians and local Haitian Americans who paraded through Back Bay with bamboo trumpeters and drums. The emotional Iraqis who gathered on Boston Common to celebrate their team’s first World Cup appearance in 40 years. The red-clad Moroccans who sang by torchlight on the Common.
And those wacky Norwegians who brought their Viking Row to places ranging from Boston (Gillette) Stadium to an escalator at South Station.
Boston police in uniform bounced soccer balls with the Scots and danced with Cape Verde fans.
Bostonians have been so enamored of the visitors that they have begged them not to leave. Mayor Michelle Wu signed a letter of intent with Glasgow officials to become sister cities. Bostonians told the Scots they can return every year for another “sleepover.”
It’s the same all over the US at match venues: Millions of international visitors are flooding major American cities. They are stunned by the size of the country and the size of our things. They’re wandering around Walmarts and Costcos and Targets and Buc-ee’s wide-eyed, like 5-year-olds visiting Disney for the first time. They’re hoisting massive bottles of ketchup and iced tea next to their heads for comparison. They’re counting the multitude of varieties of ice cream.
In Atlanta, German fans were obsessed with Waffle House, Taco Bell, and Buc-ee’s. In Dallas, Japanese fans were overcome by their first bite of barbecue and British fans marveled at the flavorful dishes at … fast food joints. (The special sauce at Raising Cane’s was a Holy Grail.) They cannot believe they get free refills on coffee and drinks at restaurants, or that Mexican restaurants give them salsa and chips for free without them asking or that everybody gives them rolls and butter before meals. For some, a medium-rare steak is a revelation.
They are astonished by our portion sizes, and joke about gaining weight in just a few days — the “FIFA 15.”
And there was ranch dressing. In particular, Europeans’ obsession with ranch is a marvel. The TSA had to issue a special advisory — with a wink — reminding travelers departing the US of the restriction on liquids in carry-ons:
If you’re visiting for a very large sporting event & you happen to discover RANCH while you’re here … pls pack it in your checked bag on the way home.
Thank you.
— TSA on Instagram
Another revelation: The sheer beauty of the United States. The cities, the suburbs, rural areas, the landscapes. Rivers and oceans, mountains and prairies and deserts. Tree-lined streets, lush flowered parks. A particular stunner for visitors: Our National Parks.
By the way, these soccer fans are some of the most respectful visitors the US has ever seen. After victories, there are no overturned cars, smashed storefront windows, fires lit in trash cans. (In contrast, Knicks fans destroyed taxis, set school buses on fire, slashed and stabbed four people, shot a teen in the foot, hit a cop with a glass bottle and injured nine others, and beat and robbed a guy wearing a Spurs jersey. Classy.)
After a night of partying on Boston Common, a bunch of young Scots who probably hadn’t gone to bed cleaned up the park early the next morning. Japanese visitors wave blue plastic bags during matches, then use them to pick up all the trash in the stadium. (Prompting women back in Japan to demand, “Do it at home, too!”)
Young US women have been captivated by the Scottish men, who have been courteous, courtly, and charismatic, prompting some to say that the Scots proved that US women don’t hate men; they hate just American men!
People from Boston to Seattle have thrown open their streets and their parks and their doors and their hearts to the visitors. One of the most famous locally is Mike Morrison, senior director of external communications for Mass. General Brigham. On June 11 he and his wife were woken in their suburban Boston home bright and early:
But rather than complain, Morrison walked across the street at 8 a.m. to welcome them … and was promptly offered a beer. “If only I had taken the day off,” he wrote. The next day, “It was a grand evening. The lads had me and a couple boys from the neighborhood over for cans and good talk.”
On the morning of Scotland’s first match, against Haiti, Morrison and his wife cooked them a big breakfast on the grill: “Can’t send the lads off to the match on an empty stomach. I hope Europeans like sausages.” Um, is the pope Catholic?
His hospitality caught the attention of another Scottish visitor, Helen McDonald, who was able to get him a ticket to the Scotland-Morocco match yesterday. “Angels exist!” he gushed. So in turn, he got her a ticket to the Red Sox game on Scottish Celebration night last Sunday — and the Sox welcomed her with a message on the centerfield big board.
As his tweets went viral, his friendships grew, both here and abroad: “The Scots say I’ve been adopted. I say I’ve been rescued.”
But soon the inevitable came: The Scots left the house across the street in the dead of night, just as they arrived, to head home — but leaving a Scottish flag in the window.
You just know that these friendships will last and that when Mike Morrison visits Scotland, he will never have to pay for a hotel room, a meal, or a drink. With just a few acts of kindness and friendship, he achieved more on the diplomatic front than, well, let’s not spoil this essay by mentioning any D.C. names. This is about us, not them.
These international soccer fans have brought energy, excitement, and a boundless joy to our shores. And they have given us something else: A reason to be proud, to be grateful, and to have hope.
We’re seeing ourselves through their eyes, and it’s a brilliant and humbling picture.
When they look at the United States, they see a massive and gorgeous country with clean, lovely cities and stunning vistas. When they experience our day-to-day life, they see a bounty of goods that we take for granted.
And when they meet us, they find warm, kind, and generous people who embraced them like long-lost cousins. The Great American Sleepover has awakened us to … ourselves.
We have had a rough time here and we are as grateful for you as you are for us. Many thanks for helping us find our pride. — peggymckc
I do not think people in the world realize how much we needed all of you to come here!!!! It’s like when you’re feeling down & your friends show up at your house & remind you who you are & make you come outside & you have such a great time that you forget that you were ever upset to begin with. That’s how this feels for us. — Trishann#ffab
As an American, I’ve been pretty mad at my country for a minute. But these videos remind me what a beautiful nation of people we are. We are not our government. — Mandrake
The Scots and the Haitians and the Ecuadorians and the Moroccans and the Japanese can thank us all they want. It’s we who are ever so grateful to them. They helped us see the true United States. Politicians come and politicians go. We stay, and hold tight to what it means to be an American.
See you in July!
Beautifully written and so true. We need the perspective of our foreign visitors. It’s also why we need immigrants.
Thank you for that uplifting story. We definitely need it.