What Seattle World Cup matches show us about U.S. as country turns 250
Improbably, it seems I have caught a case of World Cup fever.
Before this tournament, I had only seen one soccer game - a celebration of the OL Reign's Megan Rapinoe - and the 0-0 match was a bit of a snooze. Until last week, I didn't know the difference between a penalty kick or being offside.
Like many others, I was skeptical of the FIFA Men's World Cup in Seattle and what it would mean for the most vulnerable Seattleites. Would the city "clean up" by shuffling struggling unhoused people from place to place? Would only the biggest corporations profit, leaving small mom-and-pop businesses to suffer the costs while not reaping the benefits? Would it ultimately be used as "sportswashing" to obfuscate the federal government's cruelty toward immigrants and refugees?
While those questions are still important, my perspective on the world's largest sporting event has changed since the games began. What I have seen in Seattle these past weeks is in many ways the best of humanity. People from all corners of the world and all walks of life communing together with joy and passion, speaking the lingua franca of soccer or futbol. Seattle has received lots of praise for our venues and hospitality, but what has been so moving to me is to see the full display of multiculturalism - people with roots in the African diaspora, Latin America, Asia and beyond.
The heterogeneity of fans we have seen on the U.S. World Cup stage is a far cry from the insular, mean-spirited country President Donald Trump is championing that let in only three refugees out of 6,000 that were not white South Africans since October, NPR reported. The panoply of people from all cultures, languages and backgrounds sharing their love of the world's most popular game can be seen at every match in Seattle and beyond - a largely unspoken refutation of the kind of fearful nationalism that would slam our doors shut.
I had the great pleasure of attending the widely anticipated and controversial Pride Match featuring Iran and Egypt on June 26. As we entered the stadium, Egyptian fans were having a joyful impromptu dance party with a DJ playing songs by Egyptian musician Hakim and other artists.
Leading up to the match, there were fears that the repressive attitudes of the governments represented on the field would spill out into the stands, but I saw nothing of the sort.
While expressions of LGBTQ+ rights were far less prominent at the game than enthusiasm for the countries themselves, rainbows - on bodies, on clothing, on flags - were all over our nosebleed section.
Despite an effort by FIFA to ban pre-Islamic Revolution Iranian flags, many Iranian fans displayed them anyway, though volunteers tried in vain to stop them.
In our section, people cheered for Egypt, they cheered for Iran, they cheered for the sheer amazement of being at a World Cup game. The elation was palpable.
The experience reminded me of a social media post I have seen circulating that said, "The World Cup is just the U.S. having a giant sleepover with the cousins we never see because our parents hate each other."
The truth is, as always, people are not their governments.
The U.S. government may be at war with Iran, but the Iranian Americans I know felt deep pride in Team Melli playing in the World Cup, despite the complicated political dynamics.
In addition to the revelry of the people, it was also notable that Seattle was able to conquer some long-standing and seemingly intractable problems - but just for the World Cup. After years and years of complaints, suddenly we can have some public bathrooms! There was also an impressive host of well-organized volunteers, directional signage to local landmarks, and the mostly dormant Pacific Place mall has been transformed into "Soccer House" and is buzzing with fans.
There is, no doubt, still much to be improved. The much-criticized FIFA continues to cozy up to autocrats, in a bald-faced move giving Trump a FIFA Peace Prize last year. Ticket prices are astronomical. And once again, it appears the Chinatown International District has not really benefited from the crowds, even though it's just blocks from the stadium.
Monday's last Seattle game, a closely watched matchup between the U.S. and Belgium, comes just days after the country celebrated the Fourth of July and is reflecting on the past 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
For me, the juxtaposition of this historic U.S. milestone and the World Cup provides an opportunity to reflect on what is really precious about our country: the diversity of our people.
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This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 4:48 PM.