Can World Cup Tourists Bring Americans Together Again?

Late-night eggs and hash browns at a Waffle House. A grocery run to Walmart. A fuel tank fill-up at the local Buc-ee’s. A summer afternoon drive in a pickup truck with the windows down.

These are all things we take for granted in America today. But thanks to the throngs of tourists now traveling the country for the World Cup – and posting about it on social media – Americans have the opportunity to see these cultural rites of passage and the nation itself through fresh eyes. In this 250th year of American independence, perhaps the videos of a Frenchman raving about Texas BBQ or Scotsmen singing along to John Denver’s classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads” can remind us of what makes this country so extraordinary – and why we all must be invested in protecting it for another quarter-millennium.

Undoubtedly, the most famous tourist now traveling the United States is “@FreddyLA7” on X. Soon after arriving in the U.S., Freddy began posting live updates of his travels and quickly became an internet sensation. His account now has nearly 650,000 followers, and his posts are racking up millions of views.

Freddy’s first stop in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave? Taco Bell, of course, for some classic American fast food. Next came Waffle House, Chili’s (where he caught the NBA Finals), Walmart, Bass Pro Shops, Buc-ee’s, and then a truly exhilarating experience – a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine at a Wendy’s.

Freddy has become so popular, in fact, that he is receiving a true red-carpet welcome seemingly everywhere he goes. Sports teams and businesses have showered him and his fellow travelers with gifts and exclusive experiences. The Houston Police Department hosted him for some authentic Texas BBQ. Houston Texans star JJ Watt rented out a luxury hotel room for Freddy’s merry band. This week, he even got the opportunity to join a video call with astronauts on the International Space Station.

But while Freddy has grabbed most of the headlines, he’s hardly the only World Cup fan going viral on social media for his joyous reaction to seemingly mundane realities of American life. X user “Tommo” was astonished at a five-story-tall Starbucks in Chicago, noting that those in his native England are “the size of a bathroom.” Elsa from Sweden gushed about “flying over the mountains of Colorado with faster WiFi than I have at home” (thank you, Elon Musk and Starlink). One World Cup fan called Walmart “literally a museum.” Another X user posted simply, “We were lied to about the United States,” along with a photo of NRG Stadium in Houston.

All of this might come as a shock to Americans who are constantly bombarded with negativity about their home country. Elites in Hollywood, the media, and academia, along with Democrat politicians, constantly lecture us about how America is hopelessly backward and inferior to Europe. We are told that our food is trash, that we have no culture, that our economy is a corrupt “late-stage capitalist” scam.

But what America’s World Cup visitors have shown us is that all of that America-bashing is hogwash. When real, normal people from around the world come to the United States, they are amazed – even after just receiving a minuscule sampling of what this country has to offer. They are awed by our abundance, our kindness, our generosity. They are shocked at how different the America they actually encounter is from the one they have been told about their entire lives.

Of course, this is nothing new. Nearly two centuries ago, the French political observer Alexis de Tocqueville famously traveled throughout the United States for nearly a year observing the culture and characteristics of the new American republic. He published his findings in a volume titled Democracy in America. Tocqueville specifically noted the unprecedented social and economic equality in America, which he saw as the driving force behind our democracy.

Tocqueville’s analysis was not all positive, but he appreciated America in a way that only an outsider could. It is for this reason that American historians remain fascinated with his work today, just as everyday Americans are fascinated by the experiences of Freddy and his fellow World Cup travelers as they ramble around the American heartland.

One of Tocqueville’s other famous observations is that Americans “constantly form associations” to solve problems and pursue common goals. It is these associations that Tocqueville identifies as the cornerstone of American democracy. The bonds that Americans form with each other, more than any government or legal structure, are the surest safeguard against tyranny.

In our own time, the danger is that this “art of association,” as Tocqueville calls it is breaking down. Americans are increasingly retreating into ideological tribes, online echo chambers, and private resentments rather than joining together in the civic, religious, charitable, and neighborhood institutions that once formed the backbone of national life. The result is a country where millions of people still share the same flag, history, and freedoms, but too often no longer feel as if they share a common destiny – and thus find it difficult to accomplish the great feats that have defined our past.

But perhaps the unfiltered joy pouring out of Freddy and his fellow World Cup travelers can be something of an antidote to this cultural poison. Maybe, just maybe, Americans can take this opportunity to appreciate the nation that our forefathers left us – and recommit to working together to preserve it.

Shane Harris is the Editor-in-Chief of AMAC Newsline. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.