I’ll be honest: I’ve never been a huge soccer fan — “football,” for the pedants. Not because I didn’t enjoy the sport, but because where I grew up — in Ohio, America’s Heartland — it’s not the first activity kids are encouraged to take up. I think my entire soccer career lasted about two months when I was seven, and I didn’t even score a goal. Over the years, the lack of exposure left me with a bit of a blind spot for the game. Still, my love for sports in general, as an impactful and important cultural connector, has always helped me understand soccer and its role as the world’s most popular pastime.
But this summer, with the beautiful game taking the biggest stage right in front of me, I’ve never felt more engaged with the sport. Finally being able to touch it — to really feel the energy of each match firsthand — has me completely hooked and given me a new appreciation for a game I never knew much about. Since this was my first time really interacting with soccer and its deep international community, I felt it was only fitting to record my experience with the new Meta Glasses so I’d remember exactly what every stunning save and unbelievable goal felt like in real time.
To start the tournament, I headed up to Legends Sports Bar in Midtown Manhattan to meet up with some friends for South Korea versus Mexico. I was told that normally the two countries are very friendly with one another, but on this day the passion and pride for both sides was palpable from the opening kickoff.
Throughout the entire 90-minute match, battling chants of “MEH-hee-ko” and “Dae-Han-Min-Guk” split the bar in two. In that moment, I felt it best not to openly back either team, but my roommate and best friend, Zeke, is a huge Mexico fan, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little partial to them winning.
It was safe to say I got the itch. I was on a mission to watch every game I could in a crowd of diehard supporters. One night, I stumbled onto september, a local Cape Verdean-owned cafe in Bed-Stuy. Immediately, I was immersed in the joyous celebration of the Blue Sharks taking the field against Saudi Arabia, where the team secured a draw and marked their first appearance in the knockout stage.
The excitement was uncontainable, spilling out into the neighborhood, with horns honking and flags waving high in the air. I couldn’t help but join in as the chorus bellowed out the “U! U! U! U! AHHHH!" over and over again. I even captured a crescendo of celebratory fireworks on my Meta Glasses. It was truly a special moment for everyone lucky enough to witness it.
Colombia was my next exposure to some of the sport's most devoted fans. A few of my close friends have deep ties to the country and insisted I come out to watch a game with them. I took a car to Jackson Heights to meet them at Los Tres Potrillos, a Mexican restaurant that, for one night, moonlighted as a Colombian hub for the team’s knockout-round matchup against Ghana. I arrived well into the first half of the game, and from the street I could already sense the electricity inside.
The game ended with a 1-0 victory for Colombia, and based on the reactions, you would’ve thought they just secured the trophy. Dancing, singing, and nonstop cheering continued for the rest of the night, as everywhere we went, fellow fans repped their country with unabashed enthusiasm.
After each outing, I would always rewatch some of my favorite moments I captured with my Meta Glasses, and every time, it reminded me that each game was so much bigger than whoever was actually playing. Soccer is culture. The sport’s ability to unite every part of the world is something that never ceases to amaze me. No matter where you are — a bar, coffee shop, or even your friend’s living room — the game's ability to bring out that special kind of emotion in everyone watching is truly unique.
For the older generation of Americans, soccer seems like such a foreign concept. But after experiencing the ups and downs, the triumphs and heartbreaks, in our backyard, I feel even more inspired and excited for what this means for the next generation of footy fans here in the States.
After this summer, I’m sold. The game belongs to us all, and enjoyment is absolutely free.
