‘Fantastic’ hosts are wowing World Cup travelers, dispelling anti-U.S. buzz that preceded tournament

Sweltering temperatures, rampant crime and unfriendly locals. That’s what the soccer fans who have flocked to the U.S. for the World Cup were told to expect in America. Instead, international visitors tell The Washington Times they have fallen in love with great restaurants and bars, modern shops, supersized gas stations, historic sites and friendly Americans.

Through the first week of World Cup play, social media has been littered with viral moments of cultural exchanges. One German fan has seen his online following spike as he shares experiences with local cuisine and communities. A Japanese fan, through limited English, delighted local television viewers in Texas by proclaiming, “Texas is good; everything is big!”

“We’ve met a bunch of fans, and we’re all of the same mind,” Paul Rigby, an England supporter who attended Wednesday’s match against Croatia in Dallas, told The Times. “We couldn’t have been welcomed more wholesomely if they tried.”

This isn’t Mr. Rigby’s first World Cup, nor is it his first time in the U.S. — he’s been a regular visitor for decades. But this year’s event, he said, stands out, and not just because of England’s 4-2 opening match win.

The U.S. has received its share of bad international press in recent months and years — and criticism has only intensified in the wake of the strikes on Iran that began Feb. 28.

But the World Cup has put the U.S. in a different light for some fans.

“America and the world needed this. The world has been a pretty dark place for 10 years,” Mr. Rigby said. “Just being in a situation where different fan groups, communities are coming together just to have fun and learn about each other and engage, it’s been really special.”

The conversations for locals and tourists at bars, diners and parks around the country aren’t centered on international policy. The action on the pitch — including an early hat trick by Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi — has come first.

The culture shock regarding the wonders of Americana is a close second.

“Everything is way bigger than in Europe,” Nikolina Culjak, who is visiting from Croatia, told The Washington Times.

That’s applied to portion sizes, cars and even the kitchens in her friends’ homes. The kitchens in particular delighted Ms. Culjak, who noted that the dreaded American small talk was a worthwhile tradeoff.

Americans love to talk — to each other or to strangers — about anything from the World Cup to the weather.

It’s been an adjustment for some travelers, who weren’t fully prepared for the full-throated embrace delivered by locals.

“In general, the Americans have been pretty welcoming,” Ms. Culjak said. “They have been really, very polite.”

There is no simple way to prepare the European mind for the wonders of American excess.

Social media is littered with posts from foreign fans who learn about — and fall in love with — the parts of the U.S. that don’t make it into Hollywood films.

Buc-ee’s, the mega-sized gas stations endemic to the South, have become a sort of pilgrimage for tourists who are traveling to and from games.

“They’ve just been in awe of the size and scale of everything,” Mr. Rigby said of his fellow foreign fans. “We’re outside of a Buc-ee’s right now, and it’s the size of a shopping mall.”

A German fan known mononymously as Freddy on X has attracted a substantial following by documenting his experiences with U.S. culture.

“Just had our first Waffle House experience at 1 a.m. Great food, great prices, and friendly staff,” he wrote. “We will be coming back.”

U.S. staples such as Taco Bell, ranch dressing and the small-town diner have earned similarly stellar reviews.

“EUROPE WE NEED RANCH ASAP,” Swedish tourist Elsa Thora wrote on an X post that included a photo of fries.

The pre-tournament concerns of crime, scorching temperatures, aggressive border agents and unfriendly Americans have faded away for the bulk of fans in U.S. host cities. Initial worries about U.S. summers — FIFA instituted two hydration breaks for each match — have proven unnecessary as most of the nation has dodged any particularly miserable heat waves, though temperatures will rise as the tournament continues.

A handful of visitors have experienced visa issues — a referee from Somalia and a handful of officials from the Iranian squad were denied entry — but most fans who made the trip have not levied any major complaints about the process.

Meanwhile, the American hosts have continued to wow their guests.

“They’ve been absolutely fantastic,” Mr. Rigby said. “I couldn’t speak highly enough of everyone that we’ve meet in bars, restaurants, diners, on the drive. There’s a genuine curiosity about how and why we travel.”

The biggest complaints for this year’s World Cup — hosted through a joint bid by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — isn’t related to the nations at all, but the prices and scheduling dictated by FIFA.

Fans across the world have criticized soccer’s governing body for this year’s “dynamic pricing,” which allows the organizers to adjust prices in real-time based on demands. It’s resulted in sticker shock for fans who are often paying thousands of dollars for the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“FIFA’s price-gouging,” said Mr. Rigby, who still considered himself fortunate as he donated to a Dallas-area food bank ahead of England’s opener.

“All of this should prompt reflection, even within FIFA,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday regarding the pricing issues.

On a larger scale, those concerns have been overshadowed by the feel-good stories of gracious American hosts and similarly respectful foreign tourists.

Japanese fans continued a long tradition of cleaning up after themselves when they visited Dallas Stadium for their Group F opener.

Scotland’s supporters, widely known as the “Tartan Army,” have made an even greater impact in New England, where thousands of fans stayed ahead of an opening match at Boston Stadium. They partied at Boston’s parks, donning bagpipes and kilts, and left the spaces cleaner than they found them.

They also drank the entire supply of Sam Adams Boston Lager at the Boston Taproom owned by Boston Beer Co. last weekend.

In nearby Providence, Rhode Island, the Scottish masses raised $30,000 for local charities as a thank you for the region’s hospitality.

“The community has welcomed us with open arms — the other night a local man stuck my drinks on his tab and we got chatting. We’re now going to keep in contact and I’ve told him to come to Scotland,” Scotland fan Robert Copland told the BBC. “We weren’t sure what to expect staying here, but it feels like a community.”