World Cup Musings

The blackberries grew mostly out of reach this year. No blackberry dumplins for me, I reckon. :(

So I had heard talk here and there about the World Cup being held here in America a couple of months ago. It wasn't much of a blip on my radar, not being a football/soccer/sports fan, save for the occasional "America shouldn't be allowed to host it" discourse, and honestly, I agreed. With the way we've been showing our asses, I didn't think we deserved to host it. But now that the Europeans have arrived and have been here a couple of weeks, I'm seeing stories begin to flood in about the connections being made. Now I believe that deserved or not, the World Cup is what we needed. Many of us have grown so apathetic, disillusioned, jaded. The American people have fallen into a depression and it seems our European cousins have come to drag us out of our proverbial pajamas and restore the faith in humanity that we had begun to lose.

Being able to see our country through fresh eyes the things we take for granted, and yes, ranch dressing really is that amazing. I eat it on almost everything. (On pizza, you gotta try it. Just give the slice a little dip, you know you want to.) Getting the sense of satisfaction that comes from them recognizing that it really does get that hot here. We can go, "See? We told you so." And the chaotic joy the Scots have brought to the north east, having drunk Boston dry and awarded every statue with a crown of caution. Traffic cones atop the lofty brow of every statue is just the sort of harmless whimsy we need. And it is an utter delight that, for the most part, us Americans have been the hospitable hosts we are known to be. I couldn't be more proud of my people. Sure, there's been an asshole or two, but we don't claim those guys. They're assholes to us too.

It will be interesting to see how they react to the 4th of July when that comes around.

Until next time. ⚘