2022 was a year containing multiple memorable events, yet the one that managed to take the world by storm was the Fifa World Cup. 

The most viewed sporting event in the world came back for its 22nd edition hosted in Qatar between the months of November and December. For football fans there is no other more exciting event as the wait of four years finally ended. But even non football fans got into the excitement. Gatherings to watch games around the country were popular and even in schools there was a definite World Cup Fever.

Wilsonville High School was one of the schools caught in the whirlwind of football passion as people who may have never contributed a thought to the sport were now fully in and supporting their nation. 

During classes you could not look around without seeing at least one person with their eyes glued to one of the games and this became a big problem that teachers had to create their own solutions to, “it wasn’t ideal, but if students were watching the game and continuing to get work done then the work is what matters, and for me it was only a problem when it interfered with student work and class discussions” says Mr Christopher regarding students watching the games during class.

 During lunch, the USA vs Saudi Arabia game was shown at the point with a packed school crowd. Mr. Canales would show certain games during lunch and some teachers even put games on during class time. There were world cup brackets around the school and even a little tournament run by Mr. Canales during lunch time. Even during spirit week one of the themes was World Cup out. 

All of this was obviously during November and December, but now it’s March, the World Cup has been over for a while and it seems like the hype for the sport in the United States has died off. This was confusing for many as just a couple months ago everybody in the school was in a frenzy over the sport. Arguably the second biggest soccer tournament (The UEFA Champions League) has been ongoing even before the World Cup but nobody is talking about it despite it being the exact same sport. 

In an informal poll conducted by the Wilsonville Broadcast Network it was found that 55% of voters were watching the World Cup while in another informal poll conducted again by Wilsonville Broadcast network it was determined that only 42 percent were gonna be watching the UEFA Champions League.

So what is it about the World Cup that engages the American audience more than other tournaments and leagues. Could it be the lack of promotion for the domestic league in America (MLS) or simply the dominance of other sports in the country like basketball, baseball, football. 

These are all valid arguments but the biggest argument is that the World Cup is simply the biggest sporting event in the world right next to the olympics. It also has to do with nationality. People feel proud and eager to see how their country performed in such a prestigious tournament. 

Regarding the hype being gone for the sport, junior Aldair Garcia says, “I do think it’s weird how fast the hype died out, I wish more people did pay more attention to football in this country because it’s a great sport but at least the world cup brings attention to it for a couple months and that’s great.”.  Additionally, Junior Joel Thiessen says, “I am one of the people who stopped watching after the World Cup, I just don’t find the sport too entertaining when the unity and hype isn’t around it anymore,”. 

Despite the sport dying off again in the US, Football does remain the world’s most watched sport and is still a massive deal for people across the world. But who knows, maybe the US being one of the hosts of the 2026 World Cup is exactly what the sport needs to thrive in this country.