Observations reported of foreign visitors attending FIFA World Cup football matches taking place in 16 cities across America offer but a few timely reminders of reasons to gratefully celebrate our nation's 250th birthday.
As noted by the BBC, these events (known here as soccer) received viral audiences on video and social media, with a huge number of international fans eager to explore America's friendly culture, beautiful landscapes, abundant supermarkets, and restaurants serving large and delicious menu portions.
BBC observed that many attendees prioritized food as a motivation to explore American regions beyond their nation's competitive team venues.
Quoting Shaun, a vlogger from Scotland after visiting a Buc-ee's, a convenience store, restaurant, gas station, and supermarket all wrapped in one: "A place like this could ONLY exist in America and I LOVE it."
Ira Balogun from Oxford said, "I find that the food generally is significantly better than in England," adding that he was surprised that even fast food had so much flavor "across the board, whether its Chinese or [Hispanic] food."
Christian Boateng from Ghana who lives in England was stunned by generous food portion sizes, posting online, "we couldn't finish everything."
Other travelers expressed surprise that Hispanic restaurants provided free chips and salsa, and nearly every eatery offered free soda drink refills.
João Valentim and his group of Portuguese graduate student friends from Madrid reported trying "mostly fast food, chain restaurants that we don't have in our own country" including chains such as Tex-Mex staple Chipotle and the famous hamburger shop Shake Shack along with small, independently run restaurants.
Not content to remain close to host FIFA cities and major metropolitan areas, many attendees have been heading to the U.S. heartland for unique "only-in-America" experiences.
João reported that his group of Portuguese fans were eagerly heading south to Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas for classic cuisines including barbecues and a seafood boil.
Meanwhile, many of us take heart hearing Scots who have packed Boston pubs exuberantly belt every word of the Star-Spangled Banner ahead of the USA's 4-1 victory over Paraguay, while also deeply impressed to witness Japanese attendees remain following games to clean the stadiums before leaving out of respect for their culture and country.
ABC News reports that while many FIFA visitors have expressed amazement regarding limitless conveniences Americans often take for granted, including free ice, refill stations, and 24-hour retail options, what perhaps surprises them most is the overall friendliness they encounter.
Quoting Dr. Rachel J.C. Fu, chair of the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management and director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute at the University of Florida, "What Americans consider ordinary is often extraordinary to visitors."
Dr. Fu explains: "A giant supermarket aisle, free ice water, refillable drinks or a cheerful grocery clerk may be just another Tuesday for Americans, but for someone visiting from Scotland, Brazil or Japan, these experiences are fascinating cultural discoveries."
Former British entrepreneur Marina De Buchi who moved to California last year reported that one of the biggest responses she's seeing from foreign FIFA attendees mirrors her own regarding American friendliness when she first arrived.
"A lot of people say Americans are fake and I just don't think that's true," De Buchi said. "I think Americans are just really nice and friendly."
Ironically, as visitors refreshingly appreciate countless wonderful things we take for granted, a disturbingly large segment of our own citizenry views American social and economic culture very differently . . . a place where our flag is a controversial symbol, and our national anthem played at some sports events is offensive.
A recent CNN poll showed thar only 29% of Democrats said they are extremely proud to be an American, compared to 90% of Republicans; and only 24% reported wanting to celebrate America as a priority on July 4th, compared to 65% of Republicans.
Compare this with a Gallop poll taken a year ago with 36% of Democrats saying they were extremely or very proud . . . down from 62% in 2024.
Republicans' level of national pride has been much steadier, typically above 90% including 92% in 2025 which was up from 85% in 2024.
The only years Republican pride dipped below 90% were 2016 (last year of Obama term) and 2020 through 2024...all but 2020 were when a Democratic president was in office.
Worst of all, only 24% of Gen Z self-identified Democrats born in 1997 or later reported to Gallup being proud, with a 2025 survey by the Cato Institute and YouGov finding that 62% of Americans aged 18–29 saying that they hold a "favorable view" of "socialism."
As we rapidly approach the 250th anniversary of our nation's Founding, let's be especially mindful of former President Ronald Reagan's warning that our freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
While we're at it, as we hear foreign visitors memorize and enthusiastically belt out words to our national anthem, let’s also be reminded why tens of millions of would-be immigrants have been crashing through our borders from socialist countries seeking benefits so many of our own citizens of all ages take entirely for granted.
(A related story may be found here.)
Larry Bell is an endowed professor of space architecture at the University of Houston where he founded the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture and the graduate space architecture program. His latest of 12 books is "Architectures Beyond Boxes and Boundaries: My Life By Design" (2022). Read more Larry Bell Insider articles — Click Here Now.