I’m a suburban, middle-aged mom who loves soccer

Unless you’re living off the grid, you likely know that the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off this week. North America is this year’s host nation, with games being played across Canada, Mexico, and the US.

World Cup fever is everywhere right now — from plastic collector cups at McDonald’s to Ted Lasso reboots to an Adidas commercial featuring actor Timothée Chalamet driving a group of international soccer players around the streets of New York.

Side note — every time I see that commercial, I feel confident that most Americans don’t know who any of the people are in Timothée’s car. I also think there’s a high likelihood that most Americans don’t know who Timothée Chalamet is. Personally, I barely understand his cultural appeal, other than that he was in Dune, currently dates a Kardashian/Jenner, and likes to sit courtside at the Knicks’ games. Those facts alone pretty much confirm that I wasn’t the target audience Adidas was aiming for when they tagged Chalamet as the face of their World Cup campaign.

My point is, even though soccer has been gaining popularity in the US for the last few decades, it still has a long way to go compared to other sports that dominate our culture.

But in my household, soccer reigns supreme, and every four years the World Cup is can’t-miss television.

Case in point — I’m writing this article while watching the opening match between Mexico and South Africa.

By myself.

That’s right. I’m home alone right now and could watch anything — including my beloved British period dramas that nobody in this house appreciates but me.

But instead, I’m choosing to watch soccer. And honestly, no one is more surprised by this than me.

The truth is, I’m a suburban, middle-aged mom who loves soccer. And personally, I think you should learn to love it, too.

I didn’t grow up in a soccer family. Other than a few years of playing rec league as a kid, my soccer career was short-lived. And when I did play, I was always more excited about the half-time orange slices our moms provided than I was about scoring goals.

Many, many, many years after my rec league days were over, I became a mom to a couple of sports-obsessed boys. After a few years of playing basketball, baseball, and football, they eventually landed on soccer as their sport.

Moving to Texas only amplified their obsession with the game. With a Major League Soccer team located just a few miles from our house, our family started going to games. Soon, our Saturday mornings became less about cartoons and more about the Premier League.

Along the way, I began asking them a lot of questions like what is relegation, what’s the difference between a direct and indirect free kick, what’s a set piece, and of course, what does it mean to be “offside?” (FYI - American friends, there’s no ‘s’ on the end of that word. I’ll let you guess which one of my children schooled me on that.)

When I became a boy mom, I was honestly worried about how I would relate to them. My native tongue was Barbie dolls, hair braiding, and sleepovers. In my mind, having boys meant I would need to learn to love playing in the dirt, wrestling, and the smell of sweat.

No thanks.

But because I love my boys and wanted to have more than a transactional relationship with them, I started paying earnest attention to the thing they were becoming so obsessed with.

Somewhere between watching my boys play soccer, watching it on TV with them, and going to games as a family, I started to fall in love with “the beautiful game.”

Almost every day, the three of us talk about soccer. They keep me up to date on players moving to new teams, important wins and losses, who’s being relegated (West Ham), and who’s overhyped (Arsenal — sorry, not sorry).

I’ve made birthday cakes shaped like soccer jerseys and bought more actual jerseys than I care to count. I regularly watch shows like Men in Blazers (IMHO, host Roger Bennett is the Steve Hartman of the Premier League), and I think Kate Scott is one of the most impressive people in sports broadcasting (Proof: She speaks multiple languages and regularly translates players’ interviews live on-air after a game).

A few years ago, we traveled to England, where we watched Premier League games, climbed to the top of Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium and took pictures in front of the golden cockerel. We even did a Ted Lasso tour of Richmond, which might have been the highlight of our trip.

My boys might have introduced me to a world I never thought I’d care about, but now I find myself keeping up with it out of genuine interest.

You might say that soccer has become the throughline of our relationship.

A few weeks ago, I went to grab coffee with a group of my friends. As we sat there catching up on our summer plans and how our kids were doing, I looked up and instantly recognized the young man standing at the counter placing his coffee order.

“Oh my gosh,” I gasped to my friends, “that’s Ricardo Pepi!”

Clearly unimpressed, one of them said, “Who’s Ricardo Pepi?”

I went on to explain that he was a member of the US Men’s National Soccer Team and that he used to play for our local MLS team but that he now plays in Europe.

“He’s probably going to be a starter for the US men’s team at the World Cup next month,” I said with true fan-girl-level excitement.

Maybe if he had been a Housewife or a Dallas Cowboy, the sighting would have garnered more enthusiasm from my friends. However, those kinds of celebs are a dime a dozen in these parts.

Without even thinking, I started rummaging through my purse for my phone.

“I have to ask if I can get a picture with him for my boys,” I said, scooting my chair back from the table.

“Go for it,” my friends said.

So I did.

I feel pretty confident that Pepi doesn’t get many gray-haired, middle-aged moms asking for photo ops, so I might have caught him by surprise.

Asking if I could take a photo with him, “…for my boys…they’re huge fans...”, he graciously agreed.

After the photo, I turned to him and said, “Thank you. You have no idea the amount of points I’m going to score with my boys when they see this.” He laughed and said, “You’re welcome.”

Texting the picture to the boys garnered the response I expected. But it also affirmed how much they appreciate my love for this game that they love so much.

Listen, when your 17-year-old son says that you have “ball knowledge,” I don’t think there’s a higher compliment for a mom.

At least not in my house.

So what does all of this have to do with the World Cup?

For me, the next 38 days are another opportunity to connect on a deeper level with my boys as we watch country versus country battle it out to see who really is the world’s best.

Speaking of watching, did you know nearly 1.5 billion people watched the last World Cup final in 2022? The Super Bowl’s highest viewership was only a measly 128 million in 2025.

The passion of the fans, the energy of the matches, the exuberance of victory and the agony of defeat — it’s all palpable, even if you’re just watching from the comfort of your couch.

Google says soccer is the most popular sport in the world due to unparalleled accessibility, simple rules, and a rich history.

And that is true.

But I think there’s one thing that makes soccer more popular than all other sports combined:

Family.

At its heart, soccer is a family. Whether that’s a group of players coming together to represent their country or club, or it’s friends, neighbors, children, siblings, parents, grandparents, and strangers coming together to cheer on their favorite team, soccer is a sport that unites people around the world like nothing else.

If you get the opportunity to travel outside the US, you’ll see what I mean. Soccer is an instant way to connect with people, even if you don’t speak the same language.

When our family went on a mission trip to Honduras, the boys played soccer every day with some local kids and staff from the ministry we were serving. My boys speak broken Spanglish on a good day, but that didn’t matter. “Gooooooooal” is the same in any language. All you need is a ball and some open space, and suddenly you have instant friends.

Soccer is a family, and soccer is my family.

I guess that’s why I love it and why I think you should love it, too.

So, take some time to watch the World Cup this year. Don’t know who to cheer for? That’s okay! Pick a country and then go all in as you support them through their tournament run. There are 48 to choose from this year, so I’m confident you’ll find a favorite.

Welcome to the family, friends!