Not only where the England fans outnumbered by 30 to one inside the Azteca stadium, but on their way to and from the game they had to run a gauntlet of Mexico fans, including the Anti-Globalist Assembly, a far left group that promised to target England supporters because of Britain’s history of colonial rule.
The local police advised the visiting fans not to hang around the area after the game – and with good reason. After Mexico beat Ecuador last week, over a million people gathered outside the Azteca to celebrate and four fans died in the crush.
Contrast that with the experience of football supporters attending games in the United States. The story of this World Cup is of fans from all over the world discovering just how wonderful America is, from the cornucopia of different cuisines to the warm welcome they receive wherever they go.
The tournament has been the best advertisement for America since the moon landing
Take the Tartan Army that arrived in Boston to see Scotland play Haiti, Morocco and Brazil in the group stage. This was the first time Scotland had qualified for the World Cup since 1998 and the fans were determined not to pass up this opportunity, arriving in their thousands. In Europe, these fearsome, kilt-wearing warriors, with their faces painted blue, are treated like an invading horde by the local police, who escort them to and from the games, and send them home on trains immediately afterwards.
But in Boston, they were greeted like long lost cousins, with the bars and restaurants throwing open their doors, people queuing up to take selfies and policemen doing little jigs as their bagpipes played. When five thousand of them turned up to see the Red Sox at Fenway Park the day after Scotland beat Haiti and sang “Flower of Scotland” before the start of the game, the local baseball fans were so delighted they asked if they could come every week.
This was a very different America to the caricature those fans would have been told about by the Trump-hating anti-capitalists who’ve been running Scotland (into the ground) for the past 19 years. Scotland has the most draconian hate speech laws in Europe, having passed the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act in 2021. Yet in Boston, these Scots discovered that living in a country that celebrates the free enterprise system, complete with the First Amendment, isn’t such a nightmare after all. Let’s hope they return to their home country determined to get rid of the tin-pot dictators who’ve been trying to turn the birthplace of the Enlightenment into the North Korea of the North Sea.
Their experience echoed that of other fans. A Germany supporter called Sebastian Kraus says he “fell in love” with America, so different was it to the place he’d expected to find.
“To be honest, I was scared to come because of the news about shootings and criminals,” he told Channel 10 in Boston. But after being offered a lift back to his hotel by a local man called Bob following a game, he realized that – shock, horror – most Americans are kind, decent people. He’s now extended his trip, even though Germany were knocked out by Paraguay last week.
The same is true of the Norway fans – whose signature rowing stunt has delighted Americans up and down the country, even when done on escalators in shopping malls – and the Holland supporters, who’ve entertained locals wherever they’ve gone with their famous side-to-side hop, whereby thousands of orange-clad fans jump left and right in unison. The Norway fans will soon charm the good people of Miami, when their team plays England in the quarter final next Saturday.
Turns out, US citizens view strangers, particularly those wearing tribal colors and engaging in strange rituals, as people to embrace not fear. So much for the claim that America under Trump is infected with a xenophobic hatred of foreigners. Provided you’ve travelled there legally, are spending lots of money and intend to go home, Americans will greet you with open arms.
Co-hosting the World Cup on America’s 250th birthday was the smartest thing the country could have done to promote its virtues to the rest of the world. The experience of visiting fans, which they will take home with them, regaling friends and families with stories of what a great country it is, is the best advertisement for America since the moon landing. With a bit of luck, their trip to the States will ignite a love of freedom that will inform their political choices when they get back home.
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