Hating soccer is more American than apple pie': the World Cup nobody wanted the US to host

"The United States was chosen, the columnist George Vecsey wrote in the New York Times in 1994, because of all the money to be made here, not because of any soccer prowess. Our country has been rented as a giant stadium and hotel and television studio. Nobody could seriously doubt that. The USA had played in only two World Cups since the second world war and hadn't had a national professional league for a decade."

"A piece in USA Today on the day of the draw told Americans they were right not to care about the World Cup, what it sneeringly described as the biggest sport in Cameroon, Uruguay and Madagascar. Hating soccer, wrote the columnist Tom Weir, is more American than mom's apple pie, driving a pickup or spending Saturday afternoon channel surfing with the remote control."

"What nobody doubted was that the United States would bring glitz, glamour, and razzmatazz. The draw was held in Las Vegas and starred such luminaries as Bill Clinton, Faye Dunaway, Jeff Bridges, and Jessica Lange. The opening ceremony, staged at Soldier Field in Chicago before the defending champion Germany playing at a World Cup as a unified nation for the first time since 1938 faced Bolivia, was a lavish, sun-drenched affair presented by Oprah Winfrey and featuring turns by Diana Ross, Daryl Hall, and The B-52's."

The United States was chosen to host the 1994 World Cup primarily for commercial opportunity rather than soccer prowess. The country was treated as a giant stadium, hotel, and studio. The USA had appeared in only two postwar World Cups and lacked a national professional league for a decade, generating skepticism from outsiders. Many Americans expressed hostility toward soccer, dismissing it as foreign and preferring traditional pastimes. Fifa prioritized revenue but expected glitz and glamour. The tournament draw was held in Las Vegas with celebrities, and the opening ceremony at Soldier Field featured Oprah Winfrey and performances by Diana Ross, Daryl Hall, and The B-52's.

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