The game the rest of the world knows as football is teaching America something about itself on its 250th birthday and reminding international visitors that the nation is far more welcoming and complex than its bitter political caricature.
The World Cup’s gift of joy is a unifying distraction after tough years marked by ideological divides and a pandemic’s economic fallout.
And its blend of European and South American superstars and rising African and Asian teams is also holding up a mirror to the country’s own diversity and its enduring political experiment, enriched by immigration.
The run-up to the tournament was fueled by concerns about over-commercialization, exorbitant ticket prices and the political expediency often shown by its governing body, FIFA.
But once the first ball was kicked, the players’ effervescence and the off-field party they conjured started to reveal a broader truth: The country is more layered and generous than endless feuding over Donald Trump’s turbulent presidency and anti-US attitudes abroad might suggest.
