Beer diplomacy

One of the cool things about global sports gatherings is the opportunity to learn more about others’ cultures and traditions, as well as to get a true glimpse of ourselves as we act on a global stage. The World Cup is a prime example.

I’ve watched very little soccer action but I know all about the Tartan Army’s takeover of Boston, the Dutch double-decker orange bus that’s cruising the streets of Galveston, and the Japanese fans who clean the stadium after a match. I’ve watched hundreds of Norway fans “row” their way through a stadium, I’ve seen cones placed on statues and I’ve enjoyed the enthusiasm of Dutch fans doing their synchronized dances in the streets.

Online sources state that Scots brought cones with them to carry out a beloved tradition.
Credit: Scottish Aye Facebook page

But I’ve also shamefully watched the treatment of some national teams at the hands of our government, which brings me to my next happy observation.

While the federal government is doing its best to target certain teams, disrupting their practice schedules, interfering with their housing arrangements and even ordering them out of the country, average Americans are acting as temporary diplomats, throwing their collective arms around soccer (football to the rest of the world) players and fans from every corner of the world. 

I choose to believe that, given the chance, most Americans are friendly, welcoming and accepting of visitors. And judging from the stories coming out of host and training cities and towns, those average Americans have accepted the challenge and have seized the day. They’ve acted as tour guides, given advice on restaurants and must-have foods, traded clothing and memorabilia, learned songs and anthems, bought rounds of beverages at local pubs and opened their homes to visitors.

That homespun diplomacy is apparently working. In one televised interview, one Scotsman gushed about how beautiful and welcoming America is. “We’ve been lied to about America,” he said.

And that in a nutshell is what we need to remember. I like to think that this country, or at least the majority of it, it not the hateful, judgmental, racist, homophobic and misogynistic place that is being projected to the rest of the world, based simply upon the behavior and history of the White House occupant.

Average Americans have rolled out plaid, orange, blue, green and red carpets to welcome athletes and visitors from nations great and small, the powerhouse countries and the underdogs, the wealthy and the poor. All are welcome here and all are being embraced by our citizens who don’t care about the political flavor of a home country and wouldn’t deny visas or otherwise bar entry to athletes who have earned the right to be at this tournament.

In coming days, I’m going to spotlight some of the more prominent stories of enthusiastic fans, their traditions and customs, and the role Americans are playing in making their experiences those of a lifetime.

I’ve often thought of sport and the arts as bridges that connect us through commonality, appreciation and awe. As simple as it sounds, towns running out of beer, municipal officials looking the other way as statues are scaled so they can be crowned with traffic cones, dancing in the streets, doing the wave in a stadium and trading pins and other memorabilia is a form of diplomacy that can't be bought, planned or taught.

It’s average human beings embracing and interacting with other human beings despite language, cultural and religious differences.

The world could learn a thing or two by observing this gathering as if it were a laboratory in diplomacy and statesmanship. And our federal leaders sure as hell could.