Welcome back to MoneyCall, The Athletic’s weekly sports business cheat sheet.Name-dropped today: Victor Wembanyama, Pat McAfee, Brendan Sorsby, Serena Williams, Ben Stiller, Rebecca Lowe, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Adam Crafton, Diana Ross and more. Let’s go:Driving the ConversationThe World Cup transcends transactionsThis is a multi-billion-dollar event — brands are marketing, cities are clamoring and fans are undoubtedly spending — and it is easy to get caught up in the commercialization of it all. (To be sure: We will.)But it doesn’t have to break the bank. Earnestly, it shouldn’t. My shorthand:If it fits your budget, just go to a game, any game. If you can’t, go to a watch party or bar.I have been to one World Cup game in my life. In 1994, when the Cup finally came to the U.S., some college friends and I wandered over to old RFK Stadium in D.C., bought a few tickets outside from a stranger (my very hazy recollection is something like $40 each?) and went in for a round of 16 game between Spain and Switzerland.I’ll admit: I had to look up both the opponents and the final score of Spain 3-0. And yet, when people ask me about my most memorable live sports events I have ever attended, I always mention that one. Because I remember the vibe — the multi-cultural atmosphere, the energy inside and outside the stadium, the fresh experience.Thirty-some years later, hosting and attending big-time soccer games doesn’t have quite the same novelty in the U.S., but I cannot recommend more highly trying to get to a game, if you can find a reasonable ticket on the secondary market. In the absence of that, so many cities are having affordable (or free) public watch parties — again, highly recommend attending.Or find a sports bar, like I did with colleagues for an all-time epic workday outing to watch Landon Donovan’s goal versus Algeria in 2010, or with my young kids in 2014.World Cup access — which includes usurious ticket prices, of course, but also exorbitant transportation options and opaque water bottle policies — has been THE story leading up to this week, but the priceless element of the World Cup is this: communal experience.Adopt a team. Test your prediction powers versus the crowd. Find a restaurant or bar. Touch asphalt and locate a public watch party. Sit on the couch and leave the TV on all day, catching whatever game happens to be airing. (If you’re like me, you can use our ultra-handy quick-hit team guide to get up to speed on whoever is playing.)It’s not about the transaction; it’s about the transformative (and increasingly rare) experience of monoculture — in real life, no less.So much more “Business of the World Cup” coverage below, over the next half-dozen Wednesdays in MoneyCall (and daily in our essential World Cup Briefing newsletter) and nonstop from my colleagues, like this “100 Things to Know” explainer.🏆 World Cup links to bookmark• Groups and standings