New York, One World Cup Match at a Time

Watching All 64 Games in Bars, on Buses, and Even at My Cubicle Made Me Love the City in a Way I Never Will Again

Zócalo’s editors are diving into our archives and throwing it back to some of our favorite pieces. This week: Medical professional Saba Afshar reflects on his quest to watch all 64 games of the 2010 World Cup, and how it made him admire the way New York City “forces you to interact with the rest of the world’s population.”

Maybe I did expect to be in a New York City bar below 14th Street at 7 in the morning at some point. Doesn’t every newly …

by Saba Afshar | June 25, 2014

Should I Give a Damn About the Mayor’s F-Bomb?

Why It’s OK for You, Your Kids, and Even Your Mom to Listen to L.A.’s Foul-Mouthed Eric Garcetti

by Timothy Jay | June 24, 2014

In using an expletive last week to tell a rally of hockey fans, “This is a big fuckin’ day,” did Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti cross a line?

There are real …

The Golden State Is Now the Gritty State

California Used to Be About Glamour—Today It’s About Toughness

by Joe Mathews | June 19, 2014

California’s reputation as a supremely glamorous and wealthy place was once so entrenched that even its sports teams had to live up to the image. The “Showtime” Lakers of the …

Brazilian Protestors, Take Note: This Could End Badly

A 1968 Massacre in Mexico—the Last Country to Host a Summer Olympics and World Cup Back-to-Back—Holds Tragic Lessons

by Jacob Glenn | June 17, 2014

Protestors clashed with riot police as the World Cup kicked off in Sao Paulo, the latest manifestation of widespread discontent with the expensive (and behind-schedule) preparations for the massive sporting …

Steve Ballmer’s Sweet Clipper Deal

L.A.’s Best Basketball Team May Turn Out to Be Worth Even More Than $2 Billion

by Lee E. Ohanian | June 13, 2014

As the powers that be of the world’s most popular sport gather in Brazil this week for the FIFA World Cup, they ought to offer a toast to Donald Sterling. …

Brazil Modernized Soccer. Soccer Modernized Brazil.

Brazilians Made an English Game Beautiful, and in the Process, Helped the Nation Embrace Its Racial Diversity

by Joshua Nadel | June 11, 2014

Brazil—as two recent book titles point out, and almost any kid kicking a ball anywhere in the world can tell you—is the country of soccer. While the modern sport’s actual …

My Euro Obsession

Soccer’s Steady March out of the Shadows and onto our TV Screens

World Cup Rumble in the Amazon Jungle

Brazil Spent $300 Million to Build a Soccer Stadium in the Rainforest. Now They Have to Prove It Was Worth It.

If We Name It, Will They Come?

Zócalo’s Readers On What To Call L.A.’s Arriving-Soon-Honest-Any-Minute-Now NFL Team

Can the World Cup End U.S. Cultural Hegemony?

Soccer Remains One of the Few Non-American Narratives That Bind the World Together

Get More Zócalo