Did the US change the World Cup experience forever?
I've been watching the World Cup for years, and this is the first time I've come away feeling like the tournament itself has changed and lost some of its "purity." It feels much more like an American sports event.
Maybe I'm just noticing trends that have been building for years, so I'm curious what other people think.
A few things stood out to me:
Ticket prices. They seem completely disconnected from what ordinary fans can afford now. FIFA introduced dynamic pricing, and I don't remember previous World Cups feeling this inaccessible.
Celebrity culture. I know broadcasts have always shown famous people in the crowd, especially when they had some connection to one of the teams playing. This time it felt like there were constant cutaways to celebrities with no connection to either country.
The American sports entertainment model. Hydration breaks becoming commercial moments, with sponsored segments and advertising, already felt like a shift towards the American sports broadcast style. The final then took this even further with a Super Bowl-style halftime show during the interval, something that was not part of previous World Cup finals.
The overall focus on VIPs and hospitality. It feels like the tournament is increasingly built around corporate guests, luxury packages, influencers and sponsors rather than travelling supporters.
I know FIFA has been becoming more commercial for a long time, so I'm not saying the US is solely responsible for this. But it does feel like hosting the tournament there has accelerated that shift towards making the World Cup feel more like a premium entertainment product than simply the biggest football tournament in the world.
Am I imagining it, or has this World Cup genuinely marked a turning point? I'd be especially interested to hear from people who've been watching since the '90s or early 2000s.