As we approach the final three games of the World Cup, it is as good a time as any to reflect on some of the things we have learned from the past month or so, when it seems like the world has come to visit the United States. First, we have been reminded of the capacity of the American Dream to inspire visitors from around the world — mostly in terms of the abundance that many of us so often unfortunately take for granted. From foreign fans marveling at Buc-ee’s, to others returning to their home country with bottles of Ranch dressing and other American “luxuries,” being able to see our country through the eyes of others has been a potent reminder of how good many of us have things. Second, we have established once and for all that an American audience will tune in to watch soccer being played at international level, with ratings that beat out every other broadcast other than the NFL conference championship games and the Super Bowl. (With the World Cup final yet to air as of the time of this writing, I would not be surprised if the final’s ratings are only surpassed by the Super Bowl itself.) Lastly, we have learned that the gap between very good (U.S. national team) and great (every team from Belgium’s level and upward) remains a chasm, much like the separation between the most profitable Biglaw firms and everyone else.
While it has been 14 years — yes, I have been at this for quite a while — since I last wrote about a major soccer tournament on these pages, there is no doubt that this year’s World Cup has captured the public’s imagination — as well as their dollars, with prices at games for everything from tickets to parking to merchandise serving as newscast fodder from before the first ball was even kicked. Still, games have been sold out across North America, from the oxygen-deprived cauldron of Mexico City’s Azteca to the sponsor-bereft NFL cathedrals across the USA that have been the staging grounds for the onfield drama. As a longtime soccer fan, as well as the father of soccer fans, I had always imagined that once the World Cup came to these shores for the first time since 1994, I would attend at least one game (if not more) live. Thanks, however, to FIFA’s convoluted pretournament ticket procurement system and even more so due to the stratospheric prices for even the most unappealing group-stage matchups, I went into the tournament without a ticket to a single match — and was happy about it. Still, there was a nagging feeling that the opportunity to attend a live World Cup match on home soil was a fleeting one, best acted on.
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Thankfully, my eldest son continued to push me to consider going to a match. And when the quarter-final was set between Morocco and France on a late Thursday afternoon in Boston, the rough parameters of a short road trip to take in the action started to formulate. We could leave late afternoon Wednesday, stay at a free (points) hotel near the stadium Wednesday night, attend the match Thursday, and drive home Thursday night. It made sense, and while the hotels in the immediate vicinity of the stadium were selling their remaining rooms at post-blizzard snow shovel price-gouging levels, there were free options less than five miles away with availability on points. The only hitch was that we didn’t have tickets, with the available options direct from FIFA priced at round-trip business class flights to Paris amounts. And the secondary market options were only slightly better, with nary a ticket available for less than $1,500 per seat — with that amount snagging you a seat in the upper reaches of Boston (nee Gillette) Stadium’s environs. Add in the $270 parking charge — but only if you prepaid more than 24 hours before game time, after which it got even more expensive — and the cost of attendance was looking like it would exceed a well-budgeted weeklong jaunt to both France and Morocco proper.
Still, as the old quote goes “football is a game of fathers and sons,” so when my son’s deft and persistent navigation of the secondary ticket sites turned up great lower-level seats for what it would have cost us to see Brazil eviscerate Haiti in a meaningless group-stage game, I decided not to miss out on the experience. I am glad that I made that choice, even if the game itself turned out to be a stroll in the park for the clearly superior French team. Despite the lack of drama, the thrill in seeing the level of skill and talent on display, on both an individual and team level, was exhilarating. The closest legal analog I could think of was watching a well-honed trial team put on a captivating courtroom performance, with input from the lead trial lawyer down to the junior paralegal all contributing to a successful outcome. That said, the bigger lessons that I learned from the experience was the reminder that we truly live and function in a global economy, one where the United States is still looked at as a leader in terms of providing opportunities for success to those courageous enough to seize them. As a case in point, our Uber driver on the short ride from the hotel to the stadium was an Egyptian immigrant, like my parents, who was within a month of opening his new Middle Eastern restaurant in the shadow of the stadium complex. While we enjoyed exchanging notes on our favorite Egyptian dishes, hearing his story was a potent reminder for me that the entrepreneurial spirit beats in many hearts around the world, including in those who choose to come to these shores to seize their chances to put their dreams into action. Likewise, seeing the joy in the crowd, especially pregame around the stadium — from the four Norwegians in their distinctive red kits happy to “row” at the beckoning of strangers to the ebullient Moroccan fans dancing in the pedestrian zone just outside the ticket gates — made it an unforgettable experience, and well worth the cost and effort to attend.
Ultimately, there are not many opportunities we get as lawyers to experience a global phenomenon first hand. For myself, the chance to interact with the various components of my identity, as a first-generation American, with parents born in Egypt and a dad who grew up in France, stirred up feelings of gratitude for everything that this country has given me. As I reflect on my experience attending a World Cup game as part of a mini-summer road trip, I feel fortunate to have had the experience of being one of the Americans who got to participate in the festivities. The reminder that we live in a small world was a potent one, where sport could act to bring together people who on the surface may have stark differences. As we wait for the final matches to determine the ultimate winner, I think every American should feel proud at how we have welcomed the world.
Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at [email protected] or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.
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Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of K2K IP Law, an intellectual property litigation boutique that also serves as a leading consultancy on patent issues for the investment community. Gaston’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.