OFFICIAL 2026 US/Canada/Mexico World Cup Thread

[BlueK]

Premier League and other Euro matches were shown on PBS when I was a kid/young soccer player.

I remember that. The key letters being PBS however. Very niche audience at the time.

[BlueK]

Maybe I should give it a second shot. I tried in 94 when I had soccer crazed roomates and could not make it through a whole game. I haven't bothered to watch since.

I did watch in 86 and liked it but had watched very little soccer before that world cup. The US wasn't in it, but my mom's birthplace being Uruguay gave me a team to follow. What really got me hooked was in 88 on my mission to the Netherlands when they won Euro. There was no point in doing the standard missionary activities during games when the Dutch were playing. In the semifinal they had to play Germany in Hamburg, so we watched the game with some "investigator" friends. They weren't really investigating but they were super nice people friendly to us which I've always appreciated. Watching the game played at a very high level instead of how Americans played it back then was eye opening to me and it was a blast. The Dutch won and the whole country went nuts. The championship a few days later was almost anticlimactic.

[Moliere]

Maybe I should give it a second shot. I tried in 94 when I had soccer crazed roomates and could not make it through a whole game. I haven't bothered to watch since.

I find the World Cup interesting. All other soccer I find boring. I don’t know why that is, but I imagine it’s due to the high level of soccer played at the World Cup relative to other leagues. Soccer is like baseball to me in that games are kind of boring unless you are at the stadium. But baseball has the playoffs, which are intriguing and soccer is boring pretty much anytime…other than the World Cup.

[BlueK]

I find the World Cup interesting. All other soccer I find boring. I don’t know why that is, but I imagine it’s due to the high level of soccer played at the World Cup relative to other leagues. Soccer is like baseball to me in that games are kind of boring unless you are at the stadium. But baseball has the playoffs, which are intriguing and soccer is boring pretty much anytime…other than the World Cup.

I don't watch club soccer, only the national teams. I agree if you've been watching the world cup and then turn on a MLS game it's a huge shock in terms of quality. I do enjoy some of the other big international tournaments though, like Euro. I'll also watch Copa America and sometimes Gold Cup, but that's it.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I'm hard pressed to find any baby boomers who ever picked it up or who watch it now, despite it becoming accessible on TV.

[Moliere]

I have a soft spot for Switzerland. I’m glad they have a chance to advance.

[BlueK]

Roll away, but what I said about interest being generational matches the research data.

https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/54...fifa-world-cup

[Donuthole]

Roll away, but what I said about interest being generational matches the research data.

https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/54...fifa-world-cup

Agree. Also, LDS folks are not a n accurate representative sample when it comes to soccer appreciation, IMO. Too many have served in countries where futbol is life. People over 40 who have never lived for an extended period in a soccer-crazed country are much less likely to have embraced soccer than someone who spent two years playing soccer on P-days and seeing empty streets when the national team was playing.

[BlueK]

Agree. Also, LDS folks are not a n accurate representative sample when it comes to soccer appreciation, IMO. Too many have served in countries where futbol is life. People over 40 who have never lived for an extended period in a soccer-crazed country are much less likely to have embraced soccer than someone who spent two years playing soccer on P-days and seeing empty streets when the national team was playing.

Absolutely. LDS are not typical on this compared to the rest of the population.

[Pelado]

I did watch in 86 and liked it but had watched very little soccer before that world cup. The US wasn't in it, but my mom's birthplace being Uruguay gave me a team to follow. What really got me hooked was in 88 on my mission to the Netherlands when they won Euro. There was no point in doing the standard missionary activities during games when the Dutch were playing. In the semifinal they had to play Germany in Hamburg, so we watched the game with some "investigator" friends. They weren't really investigating but they were super nice people friendly to us which I've always appreciated. Watching the game played at a very high level instead of how Americans played it back then was eye opening to me and it was a blast. The Dutch won and the whole country went nuts. The championship a few days later was almost anticlimactic.

Amen in Argentina during the gold medal match of the 1996 Olympics.

Afterwards, we tried tracting and when we asked this one guy if we could share a message with him about Jesus Christ, he responded - with a depressed look on his face - something like, "I can't, I just can't" (but in Spanish).

[Omaha 680]

The world cup is not the highest quality soccer tournament. It is the most popular and draws in so many casual fans because of the passion involved. Think college football vs nfl. Or the reason people get excited about speed skating every four years. Personally I am a fan of the gsme from crappy leagues to the champions league but world cup is the most enjoyable.

Currently trying to fulfill a 34 year dream of seeing the US team in the world cup. My flight to Seattle from JFK was supposed to leave 4 hours ago. We sat on the tarmac for 3 hours then deplaned. Now we are at a new gate supposedly getting a new plane but there are no agents in sight. And of course its the earliest kick time of the day (noon local) so we have no cushion to get there tomorrow morning. Its tonight or shattered dreams.

[Shaka]

I remember that. The key letters being PBS however. Very niche audience at the time.

This was in the mid-seventies. Soccer was the first Little League sport you could play in my town, so when I turned five..... They started us early, so my city had an excellent youth soccer program whose participants often outpaced Little League baseball. A lot of us played both. I also played in an early version of club soccer for a couple of years, but wound up going back to my city league because it was better. Along the way, I had a few European coaches, and they made sure we knew the Premier League Schedule on PBS. I enjoyed watching.

[Moliere]

The world cup is not the highest quality soccer tournament. It is the most popular and draws in so many casual fans because of the passion involved. Think college football vs nfl. Or the reason people get excited about speed skating every four years. Personally I am a fan of the gsme from crappy leagues to the champions league but world cup is the most enjoyable.

Currently trying to fulfill a 34 year dream of seeing the US team in the world cup. My flight to Seattle from JFK was supposed to leave 4 hours ago. We sat on the tarmac for 3 hours then deplaned. Now we are at a new gate supposedly getting a new plane but there are no agents in sight. And of course it’s the earliest kick time of the day (noon local) so we have no cushion to get there tomorrow morning. Its tonight or shattered dreams.

Tweet at the airline. That seems to do wonders for people in similar situations

[Omaha 680]

Tweet at the airline. That seems to do wonders for people in similar situations

We ended up getting a new plane and taking off about 6 hours late. I won't get to my hotel until 2 am but at least I won't miss the match. There are a lot of people (US and Australian) trying to get to the match and the captain and crew seemed invested in gettting us there. I don't know if that made a difference in getting a new plane but it's nice to feel like it did.

[Jeff Lebowski]

We ended up getting a new plane and taking off about 6 hours late. I won't get to my hotel until 2 am but at least I won't miss the match. There are a lot of people (US and Australian) trying to get to the match and the captain and crew seemed invested in gettting us there. I don't know if that made a difference in getting a new plane but it's nice to feel like it did.

Yay. I am happy that worked out for you.