LA defies skeptics with a World Cup characterized by singular, fearless fun
The preparations for the World Cup in Los Angeles were marked by concerns about how immigration enforcement, travel restrictions and anti-Trump backlash would affect the atmosphere and attendance of the games.
But on the streets of LA last week, something very different happened.
Fans from a kaleidoscope of cultural backgrounds come together to model the kind of world – and city – they want to live in.
On the bus from the city to Inglewood on Monday, there were a lot of people wearing Farsi-embroidered shirts and a crowd of Kiwis dressed as one would expect for a showdown between Iran and New Zealand that night. However, there were also collections of Argentina’s green striped t-shirts, dozens of Team USA jerseys, and a large group of fans chanting “Viva Mexico” in the back of the bus.
The atmosphere was lively before Monday’s match among fans of Iran’s national team. Players, due to the Trump administration’s restrictions, had to travel to games from Tijuana.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Similar scenes play out on the Metro K Line as World Cup attendees from all over trade how to get tickets, tips for navigating LA’s transit system, and fond memories of past tournaments.
“This festival is about unity and bringing the world together; there are 48 nationalities and everyone is happy,” said Ardy Salem, an Iranian-American dentist who traveled from the Bay Area to attend the game, as he surveyed the cheering crowd outside SoFi Stadium on Monday.
“For just a moment,” he said, “we will leave all politics behind.”
David Leon, 32, of Watts was grinning from ear to ear as he stood outside the stadium entrance wearing his green Mexico jersey, despite the fact that he was initially not in favor of having the World Cup in Los Angeles.
“I thought it would be a big problem for a lot of different people to come here,” said Leon.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Leon was worried that foreigners would be turned off by American politics and afraid to go to the US
Instead, he’s been happily entertained by visitors posting their positive reactions to American culture on social media — like a German man discovering a Waffle House for the first time and a Swedish woman being blown away by farm dressing.
“It really brings together people from all these different nationalities,” said Leon, looking at the lines of people waiting to enter the stadium. “I’ve seen Colombians, I’ve seen Mexicans, New Zealanders, Iranians, Germans, Spaniards.”
And in his Mexican-American community, he said the games brought much-needed excitement. This time last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids were rampant in Los Angeles, striking fear into every immigrant family.
Mexico fans attend Monday’s game at SoFi Stadium. Before the World Cup, there was widespread fear of the presence of ICE at the games.
(Kelvin Kuo/Los Angeles Times)
Just last month, around 2,000 workers at SoFi Stadium threatened to strike if they did not get assurances that immigration agents would be barred from outside the stadium during the World Cup.
Leon said that he is really worried that ICE will use the opportunity of the gathering of crowds in these games to make other immigration laws.
But, so far, that hasn’t been the case. Instead, many people in his hometown of Watts were consumed by “World Cup fever,” crying themselves out of work attending watch parties at local bars and walking the streets with their eyes glued to the live telecast of the game on their phones, he said.
While the excitement was overwhelming among the football fans who gathered in Inglewood on Monday, the day was not without stress or pangs of sadness for those who missed out on the fun.
James Carling, 63, of Ventura said it hurts him to know that many fans from countries like Iran, Haiti and Senegal cannot attend the games because of the Trump administration’s travel restrictions.
“Let’s be honest, our government does not make it easy for people to visit us, which is a shame,” he said outside the forum. “There were people from countries whose teams won [to the World Cup] who were not allowed to come again, I’m sorry, that’s not right.”
The specter of a US war with Iran and the anger many Iranian Americans feel toward the current Iranian government were also present in Inglewood on Monday. Outside the stadium, some Iranian football fans had tense encounters with protesters who felt that supporting Iran’s national team was tantamount to supporting a repressive regime.
Yet the mood among Iranians attending Monday night’s game was one of celebration, where for a few hours they were able to put aside political differences and unite over the simple love of football.
In the parking lot, David Arias, a Mexican-American resident of Inglewood, punched Kam Pirouz, an Iranian fan who had traveled from Washington, DC, to see the game.
Mexico and Iran are “homes right now,” Arias said, referring to the fact that Iranian players travel to games in Los Angeles from Tijuana because of restrictions imposed on them by the Trump administration.
Fans watch the World Cup group match between Iran and New Zealand at SoFi Stadium on Monday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
Although Arias doesn’t have tickets to the show, she said she couldn’t resist the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. So he decided to take over his barber shop in the parking lot outside the stadium and offer free haircuts to fans.
With an hour to go before Monday night’s game, all three seats in his pop-up shop were full; Pirouz, an Iranian fan, was experiencing a new blur while sitting next to a Mormon missionary from Utah and an Egyptian fan.
“The World Cup, man, the whole world comes together, and it’s great,” Pirouz said with a haircut. “The best game in the world.”
Times staff writer Seamus Bozeman contributed to this report.
