A Personal World Cup Review: In Pursuit of an XXL Tournament
Journalist Alina Schwermer recounts her 4,000-kilometer road trip from southern Mexico to Kansas City, USA, covering the 2026 World Cup primarily by bus. She contrasts the intense, grassroots soccer enthusiasm in Mexico—where fans celebrated Mexico's knockout stage qualification in Guadalajara with massive street parties—with the more subdued atmosphere in US host cities like Houston and Dallas, where enthusiasm came mainly from traveling South Americans. The author highlights the climate-friendly, decelerated approach of bus travel, which allowed deeper conversations with locals about FIFA's inaccessibility, gentrification, and environmental destruction. She notes that many Mexicans felt excluded from stadium matches due to high ticket prices, calling the tournament 'for the big shots,' and that the real party happened at fan festivals. The piece reflects on the privilege of experiencing the World Cup's heart in Mexico versus the corporate, dispersed feel in the United States.
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