Why I love the World Cup

Every four years, the world agrees to care about the same thing at the same time.

In today’s fragmented media environment, that feels almost miraculous.

For a few weeks, airports become viewing parties. Families text across time zones. Strangers celebrate together in bars and city streets. Entire countries collectively hold their breath for ninety minutes at a time. And somehow, despite all our differences, we all understand exactly what’s happening.

That’s why I love the World Cup.

Of course, I love the sport itself and follow it all year long as I cheer on my beloved Los Angeles Football Club every weekend. But what fascinates me most is what the tournament reveals about people, culture and connection. Because the World Cup has never just been about football.

The power of shared moments

We live in an era of personalized everything.

Our feeds are individualized. Our entertainment is on demand. Even cultural conversations increasingly happen in smaller and smaller communities. There are fewer moments where everyone is watching the same thing together.

The World Cup cuts through that fragmentation. Suddenly, billions of people are emotionally invested in the same stories at the same time. The underdog run. The aging superstar’s final tournament. The shocking upset. The redemption arc. The young player who becomes a national hero overnight. These moments become collective memory.

You remember where you were for certain goals, certain matches, certain penalty kicks.

Even people who don’t follow football year-round often find themselves pulled into the emotion of it all because the energy becomes impossible to ignore. And that matters more than we sometimes realize.

Shared experiences create cultural glue. They give us common reference points. They remind us that despite how personalized modern life has become, there is still enormous power in collective emotion.

The brands that become part of the story

For brands, the World Cup represents something increasingly rare: genuine attention.

Every four years, brands have an extraordinary opportunity to become part of the cultural conversation in a meaningful way. The best ones understand that their role isn’t simply to advertise during the tournament but to contribute to the feeling of it.

Nike has arguably done this better than almost anyone. Campaigns like Write the Future in 2010 weren’t memorable simply because they featured famous athletes. They captured the emotional stakes of the tournament itself, the idea that one moment can define legacy forever.

Adidas has often leaned into heritage, greatness and football culture more broadly. Coca-Cola historically tapped into themes of unity, joy and global celebration. Even smaller regional brands occasionally create breakout moments when they authentically connect to national pride or fan experience.

More recently, Hyundai’s long-running World Cup activations have consistently focused less on flashy advertising and more on participation, inviting fans to contribute slogans for national team buses or creating fan-first experiences that tap into pride and belonging rather than pure sponsorship visibility.

In many ways, these type of campaigns are a reminder that during global sporting events, authenticity and emotional relevance often outperform mere scale. If you feel like going down memory lane, check out these 1994-2024 World Cup brand activations. 

A forever love

In many ways, the World Cup feels increasingly important precisely because our world feels increasingly divided and fragmented.

It reminds us that collective joy still exists. That shared stories still matter. That there is still value in experiences that bring people together across geography, politics, language and culture, even if only for a few weeks.

And for brands, it’s a reminder too. People are always looking for connection. For belonging. For moments that make them feel part of something larger than themselves.

Every four years, we get to watch the world come together around a game. And honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving that.