Good morning! I hope the world is being good to you and you’re being good to it.

Grab your coffee or beverage of choice and share a thought with me.

As a youth sports parent, I watch more than my share of soccer, or fooooooootball if you want a little snootiness to start your day. While there have been plenty of snoozers, there are also intense matches. That’s impressive too, because they ultimately don’t mean anything. Trust me, I pay closer attention to the match quality and outcome than the kids playing. Given how into youth soccer I can get, you better believe the World Cup is proving to be an entertainment buffet.

I don’t really watch professional soccer other than dabbling in a Premier League match here and there. Essentially, I follow it enough to know who the major players are and to be able to keep up with the youths’ conversations when they start throwing out mono-named superstars. When it comes it comes to national competitions, however, I’m all in.

Olympics? YES, I would love to watch this sport I know little about and won’t watch for another four years, and you better believe I need to know all the competitors’ backstories. World Cup? ABSOLUTELY! I have never been so invested in a lack of scoring. Learning more about the game through youth soccer has helped refine my understanding and appreciation of its strategy and difficulty. Scoring a goal is incredibly challenging. You can sit through most of a match with the score resting at 0-0, but then, in an instant, the defense parts and BAM – ball in net and excitement abounds.

So watching the 2026 World Cup, it is easy to get pulled into the stadium’s intensity as it hangs on every kick and potential swing of momentum. Every minute and goal is immensely valuable as it can dictate whether years of anticipation and months of preparation continue to pay off or if a team and its fans head home unfulfilled and disappointed. The overall experience, however, is worth any outcome. National pride is unabashedly on full display – seeing the home team find success is incredibly satisfying. You root for the underdogs who actually have a chance, because again, all it takes is one kick and a lucky bounce to change a team’s fortunes. Extra time puts everyone on edge since you can’t tell exactly when the final whistle will sound. And then there are penalty kick deciders. It’s hard to fathom a higher pressure situation; they are the ultimate diorama for putting nerves, joy, and heartbreak on display.

What do you think? Are you watching the World Cup? Does the rarity of an event like the World Cup or the Olympics tend to hook you? Have you slogged through a youth sports tournament weekend? Let me know how your experience is stacking up.

Have a good day and enjoy that coffee!