From heartwarming to crazy: World Cup stories from each city that hosted teams
The 2026 World Cup was supposed to test whether America could handle a tournament of this scale. What nobody predicted was that fans arriving from other countries would spend much of the tournament being astonished by Buc-ee’s, discovering Waffle House, and drinking American cities completely dry.
Here are the stories that came out of each host city.
Boston: The Tartan Army and the beer problem
The beer had run out. The parent company of Sam Adams said its Boston Taproom ran out of flagship Boston Lager after Tartan Army supporters drank four times the usual volume. Scotland’s fans flooded Fenway Park with bagpipers, played pickup soccer with Haitian fans in the streets, and pulled a Boston police officer into a keepie-uppie demonstration that went viral. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu named Glasgow a sister city. The Boston Globe ran a full-page message of thanks. Scottish fans left a $15,000 donation to a charity helping students in financial need. None of that was planned.
Dallas: England fans discover the rodeo
England supporters drank over 5,000 beers at a single pub, making more than $40,000 in beer sales in one evening. What got reported less was English fans wandering into Fort Worth and making their way to a rodeo at the Stockyards, where locals were overwhelmed by the singing that descended on the small venue. The Dutch also made their presence known in Dallas with a massive links-rechts chant before their 2-2 draw with Japan. Two different European fan cultures, same city, completely different approach to being in Texas.
Kansas City: Argentina at Taco Bell
Argentines flooded into a Taco Bell, one of the few restaurants around Arrowhead Stadium, before creating an intense atmosphere for La Albiceleste’s 3-0 win over Algeria. The defending World Cup champions, their fans eating drive-through Mexican food in Missouri before a group stage match. There is something about that image that captures what this tournament turned into.
Miami: Cape Verde’s goalkeeper and his mother
At the final whistle, Vozinha collapsed to his knees in tears. His mother’s visa had been fast-tracked so she could watch him play. She was in the stands for Cape Verde’s 2-2 draw with Uruguay. Cape Verde has a population of just over 500,000 people. Miami Stadium was loud for those matches in a way that had nothing to do with Miami and everything to do with what it means to represent a country that small on a stage that large.
Vancouver: Australia tries to drink the city dry
“We ordered 200 kegs for the weekend,” said the manager at Vancouver’s Dublin Calling. “The Australians were actually trying to drink us dry.” They came close. Vancouver’s downtown strip was overtaken. Bars increased staffing and alcohol orders. The Socceroos have a specific kind of fan and Vancouver was not entirely prepared for what that looks like at scale.
Atlanta: Where the world came and felt at home
Many international visitors found friendly people, diverse cities, and a country more welcoming than expected. Fans discovered Buc-ee’s, Waffle House, free refills, Southern hospitality and Texas BBQ. Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park became a gathering point where the fan festival drew crowds from dozens of countries simultaneously. The official slogan, “in Georgia you’re family”, also turned out to be true.
The bottom line
The skeptics who thought American cities couldn’t handle a World Cup were wrong about which direction the surprise would run. The cities handled it fine. It was the cities that got surprised — by bagpipers at Fenway, by Argentines at Taco Bell, by a goalkeeper’s mother getting her visa fast-tracked. The tournament produced exactly the kind of stories that make people who didn’t think they cared about soccer care about soccer.
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