World Cup Summer
notes on international tourism, world cup watch parties, and the joys of a busy summer tv schedule
The FIFA 2026 World Cup is here!!! Cheers to 39 days straight and 104 matches of soccer (football) !!!
If you read my Substacks you know I developed a soccer obsession last World Cup. This somehow led to four years attending international friendlies in the US, many hours of Champions League viewing, and latching myself on to Arsenal (only to watch them finish in second year after year before FINALLY winning the Premier League this year). Anyways, I’m into it. I’m excited. And I plan to work from my couch with Fox Sports on for the foreseeable future.
It is a strange feeling having North America, but specifically the US, be such a hot destination right now. As it’s mid-June, I am used to seeing my social media feed flooded with Euro Summer content and annual family summer vacations. Instead, I’m seeing Japanese tourists trying Texas cuisine, the Scottish drinking the city of Boston dry and going to Red Sox’s games, and of course, FreddyLA7 live tweeting his way across the South. The US (and all of its quirks) is someone else's bucket list trip right now, and that's kind of a fun thing to sit with. Now I just need footage of the England National Team trying Kansas City BBQ.
LA being a host city has made the town feel more lively than ever. And the squad of lovely New Zealand men who descended upon the local coffee shop last week almost makes up for the increased traffic.
I did miss out on the Fan Zone in Venice Beach and the watch parties at LA Memorial Coliseum, but these spots are open the whole tournament and I need to choose a fun spot to watch the next USMNT group stage match. These are a few of the big ones staying open the whole tournament:
Westfield Mall (Century City)
COSM (Inglewood)
Hammer Museum (Westwood)
LA Fan Zones (each location has designated dates)
I went to Santa Monica Brew Works last week for the first match and the vibes were incredible. When all else fails, ditch the crowds at the big watch parties, and post up at your favorite bar. We went a few hours before kickoff and got the perfect table in front of the big screen. I hope the excitement stays this way throughout the whole tournament and it’ll be a fun summer.
BUT IN OTHER NEWS I’M GOING TO A MATCH THIS WEEKEND. Two of them actually. Really curious to see how it is getting to and from SoFi Stadium, so that will be a part two post. I didn’t win a single ticket lottery I opted in for, but luckily my friends were able to get some seats at face value and now I’ll be cheering on Bosnia on Thursday and Belgium on Sunday. Since I really have no affiliations to these countries I have been having a fun time looking for outfit inspo:
For US matches, this has been my best purchase so far. Depop has been the absolute best place to find jerseys and t-shirts (and right now there are no shipping fees). Abercrombie, HM, and Gap have some good finds too; it seems like everyone is hopping on the sporty summer bandwagon.
Okay, signing off. All four of today’s games are done and I must switch my brain over to Love Island UK mode now.
One last thing:
