Not-so-ugly Americans

Since billions of people watch the FIFA World Cup, the host country can enhance its worldwide image. Or not. In UD Magazine’s summer issue, UD assistant professor Oliver Knabe examined this phenomenon by focusing on two World Cups in which his native Germany participated.

Knabe said that, prior to the tournament, “Europeans seemed to have turned sour on America.” Many issues were divisive: claims on Greenland, NATO, war with Iran, tariffs, treatment of refugees, travel bans. The Cup itself, setting record-high ticket prices, aggravated the situation, as did the close relationship between President Donald Trump and the controversial FIFA president, Gianni Infantino. Some in Europe called for a boycott.

But then the people came. They saw. America conquered. Visitors were amazed at the warm reception they received— as well as by gigantic gas stations and large jars of pasta sauce. Positive reports flooded social media. Only Spain went away the winner, but fans went away happy.

“So,” Knabe asked, “is the old truism that soccer (here in the shape of the World Cup) can bridge ideological gaps and bring together people and cultures more than a cliché?” 

He answers yes and no. The world has “a dual image of our nation: a politically fraught arena marked by international tensions and domestic controversy” and one, spread by millions of visiting soccer fans, of “a fascinating cultural space for international encounter and shared experiences.”

A version of this article appears in print in the Autumn 2026 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 26. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE