We couldn’t think of any more immersed guest to bring us the full scope of the pending World Cup in North America than lifer soccer insider Steven Goff of Yahoo, who joins Nestor on eve of Copa Mundial with the good, bad and hideous of the FIFA thugs coming to your town and putting on the greatest sports spectacle and tournament on earth.

Nestor Aparicio and Steven Goff discuss the upcoming World Cup, highlighting the financial and logistical challenges of hosting the event in the U.S. Goff notes that while cities like Washington, D.C., and Baltimore missed out on hosting games, the expanded 48-team tournament will still attract significant interest. He emphasizes the high ticket prices, with some matches costing up to $689, and the financial burden on cities, as all revenue goes to FIFA. Goff also discusses the U.S. team’s prospects, noting their professional players and the importance of their group stage matches. He predicts a successful tournament despite the complexities.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Run the Maryland Crab Cake Tour on the road throughout the World Cup month and feature Copa Mundial/World Cup content, including appearances at Sorrento of Arbutus on the 10th and Green Mount Station in Hampstead on the 24th
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Add the World Cup match schedule to personal calendar (enable FIFA/TV schedule grid) so match times appear in calendar and planning
• [ ] Travel with and provide coverage of the U.S. national team throughout the World Cup (team base camp in Irvine; group-stage matches on the West Coast) for reporting duties

World Cup 2026 Preview and Maryland Crab Cake Tour

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the Maryland Crab Cake Tour, highlighting various events and activities leading up to the World Cup.
• Nestor mentions the upcoming election and the Maryland Treasure Series event at Sorrento of Arbutus on the 10th.
• Nestor reflects on past World Cups and the involvement of Baltimore and Washington in bidding for games.
• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the financial and political challenges faced by cities hosting the World Cup, including transportation and ticket pricing.

Challenges and Financial Impact of Hosting the World Cup

• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the financial strain on cities hosting the World Cup, including transportation costs and ticket prices.
• Nestor shares his experiences traveling in South America and the perception of the United States among locals.
• Nestor expresses concerns about the high cost of tickets and the financial burden on fans, especially for less popular matches.
• Speaker 1 highlights the financial benefits and challenges for cities hosting the World Cup, including the revenue sharing with FIFA.

Soccer’s Growth and Accessibility in the United States

• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the growth of soccer in the United States, including the expansion of the women’s league and the availability of games on various platforms.
• Speaker 1 notes that soccer has become more accessible and popular, with a younger, more diverse fan base.
• Nestor reflects on the changes in soccer broadcasting over the years, from satellite feeds to live streaming.
• Speaker 1 mentions that the 1994 World Cup in the United States was the most highly attended World Cup in history.

US Men’s Soccer Team and World Cup Expectations

• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the US men’s soccer team’s performance and expectations for the World Cup.
• Speaker 1 highlights the professional experience of key players like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKinney.
• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the US team’s recent friendly match against Senegal and the team’s performance in previous tournaments.
• Speaker 1 notes that the US team’s goal should be to reach the quarterfinals, but winning the World Cup is not a realistic expectation.

World Cup Group Stage and Key Matches

• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the US team’s group stage matches against Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey.
• Speaker 1 explains the importance of the group stage matches and the potential outcomes for the US team.
• Nestor shares his experiences attending World Cup matches in Germany and the excitement of the tournament.
• Speaker 1 mentions the presence of a large Turkish American community in the United States and their support for the Turkish national team.

Logistics and Infrastructure for the World Cup

• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the logistical challenges of hosting the World Cup, including transportation and stadium infrastructure.
• Speaker 1 notes that all revenue from the World Cup goes to FIFA, and cities host the event for the honor and exposure.
• Nestor expresses concerns about the financial impact on cities and the potential for gouging by local businesses.
• Speaker 1 highlights the need for proper stadium infrastructure to accommodate soccer fields, which are wider than NFL fields.

Impact of Climate and Hydration Breaks on Players

• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the impact of the American climate on players from European countries.
• Speaker 1 mentions the introduction of water hydration breaks in all World Cup matches to address the heat.
• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the importance of proper hydration and the challenges players will face in the US climate.
• Speaker 1 notes that the breaks will also provide more opportunities for TV rights holders to sell ads.

Media Coverage and Viewing Options for the World Cup

• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the media coverage of the World Cup, including the English and Spanish rights holders.
• Speaker 1 mentions that Telemundo and Peacock will show the Spanish-language broadcasts, while NBC does not have the English rights.
• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the various options for watching the World Cup matches, including streaming services.
• Speaker 1 highlights the importance of proper stadium infrastructure to accommodate soccer fields and the adjustments made to NFL stadiums.

Personal Reflections and Experiences of the World Cup

• Nestor shares his personal experiences attending World Cup matches and the excitement of the tournament.
• Nestor reflects on the cultural and social aspects of the World Cup, including the food and tailgating.
• Speaker 1 mentions the presence of large fan communities from various countries, including Turkey and Peru.
• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss the importance of the World Cup as a cultural and sporting event, despite the challenges and controversies.

Final Thoughts and Expectations for the World Cup

• Nestor and Speaker 1 discuss their final thoughts and expectations for the World Cup, including the potential for classic matchups in the knockout rounds.
• Nestor expresses his hope for a successful and enjoyable World Cup experience for fans and players.
• Speaker 1 highlights the importance of the World Cup as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to experience the tournament in the United States.
• Nestor and Speaker 1 conclude the discussion with a nod to the late Grant Wall, who was a regular guest during World Cup seasons.

Nestor Aparicio 0:01
Welcome home. We are W N S T A M 1570 Tassel Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. We got all sorts of things going on, including the Maryland Crab Cake Tour, where I am going to feature some Copa Mundi as the World Cup finally comes back to the United States of Shitler. I’m not sure, even sure what we’re doing here. We have lawn fights, cage fights, and we have the biggest soccer tournament in the world coming. And to honor that, we’re gonna be taking the Maryland Crab Cake Tour on the road all month long. We have an election coming up. We have the Orioles, maybe independent race, I’m not sure. The Maryland Treasure Series will be with me when I am at Sorrento of Arbutus on the 10th. The World Cup kicks off. On the 11th, I’m working on some shows and some soccer things, and Pete Gringes on the back phone, and I’m working it all out right now. And also, our friends at GBMC and Farnon in Dermer – we don’t ever want to forget them, they’re great sponsors. We’re going to be up at Green Mount Station in Hampstead, beautiful pastoral Carroll County on the 24th after the election, and right in the middle of the aforementioned World Cup, since the last time we did this, Grant Wall came on, Steve Goff came on, who’s about to join me formally of the Washington Post, which is really weird, because I’ve known golf since like I was a kid, and he was in the Post, and I was at the Sun, and like, whatever, John Harks was running around, and Bruce Arena, and they were starting this MLS thing in the anyway. Steve Goff is here. He is a soccer historian of the highest order. It is going to be a very busy month for him. Usually, he’s like a plane to South Africa or Russia or Qatar or any other terrorist that bought the games in pair in previous years. Instead, we’re the terrorists who bought the games this time. We thought we’re gonna have games in Baltimore. Steve, last time you and I got together, Grant Wall was alive, and we were talking about Baltimore getting games and guitar, and like just all of that. And I don’t know, man, it feels like the Olympics are a thing that comes every four years, and the World Cup in most cases comes every four years, but dude, it comes every minute for you. You’ve been chasing the team around. I’m just.. maybe it’s good. Maybe it was an omen that Washington and Baltimore didn’t get the bid, because you know who would have been right in the middle of this in Washington, D.C. But we’re in the middle of this this month, and this is a.. the whole world’s going to be watching United States of America. Oh, in about a week.

Steven Goff 2:22
Yeah. No, it’s in a way it was a blessing to Washington, Baltimore, as well as, like, Chicago. Chicago never bid in the first place, because they didn’t want to play by FIFA’s rules, and they knew they would get hit hard financially, and so, and politically,

Nestor Aparicio 2:41
in some cases, yep,

Steven Goff 2:42
yeah, perhaps, but you know, cities are coming to realize that putting on a World Cup in association with FIFA is not to your economic benefit, and so it’s, it’s a headache, I mean, it is for, you know, any city that hosts a major event, like an Olympics or a World Cup, but yeah, there’s a lot of strain on on many cities, and we’ll see how this plays out. Certainly, transportation challenges in several cities, you know, obviously the cost is affecting the cost of tickets and hotels and everything else that affects everyone that’s visiting or traveling around the country, around the continent, or

Nestor Aparicio 3:29
any gouging that may be involved in that too, right? Or the, or the thought that there would have been gouging, but dude, I’m not sure anybody’s coming. I don’t, I don’t really know. I just have traveled the world. I just spent time in South America. I was there for two and a half weeks, going through Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, real, you know, soccer places, and it financially for where their money is, and where our money is, and what our economy is, and what the safety of people that look like, like me, being Venezuelan, I mean, there’s a bad perception everywhere. I went, people wanted to talk about Trump with me, and none of them felt like they wanted to come to America to live, stay, work, play, or pay $1,500 to see a soccer game that they.. that’s a year’s pay to some people, like it’s just part of this. I’ve looked on Sea Geek, I thought, hey, I’ll go up to Philadelphia and see a game where I’ll go, and maybe I will, if it’s $58 ever to do it, dude, top to bottom, you understand this better, anyone, and I’ll get into the US team and our chances, and who’s going to win the cup, and like all of that, politically, and what we’ve been waiting for, me being an outside soccer guy that went to the World Cup in Germany 20 years ago, and sort of likes it, and it’s dedicated my radio station and myself to it every fourth year when things happen, and having guests on and talking about it in a way that most American sports radio never would over the last 30 years. I love the World Cup, I’ve participated in the World Cup, I. The flag to get the games here, a couple years ago. Last time you and I were together, it was all going on, dude, with the Saudis getting involved in murdering journalists that were your colleagues at the Washington Post, and the Washington Post ain’t the Washington Post anymore, and you’re gone, and the sports washing of what’s going on here that we all held our nose when he said Qatar, and we’re like, like, how corrupt is this? And then the raid in Switzerland that happened at eight in the morning. That morning I was watching the raid on the FIFA people, and then the raids kind of coming here next week, and I’m scratching my head, and I’m saying to myself, who are the rich people getting fleeced? Who’s staying at these hotels at $800 a night? Who’s paying 50? Like, and then the total politics of coming here and dealing with the American government when there’s fear of the American government outside of here that maybe people don’t even understand in the way that you’d have to travel little to know.

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Steven Goff 6:00
Yeah, no, I think there’s certainly a lot of apprehension about fans who typically travel great distances to see their country and to watch the World Cup. I think the number one issue is financial. I mean, it’s very expensive to start with to attend any World Cup, doesn’t matter where it is. On top of that, you know you’re looking at prices that have soared. I mean, they were initially set very high using dynamic pricing by FIFA, and then the secondary market, and the secondary market doesn’t really exist in much of the world, but it certainly does here, and so prices for for high high level matches, marquee matches have soared, especially the late round knockout games. So, yeah, we’ll see. I mean, I think I think it’s it’s the prices have to come down as it gets a little bit closer, especially matches that don’t have a lot of appeal or are being played on a Wednesday afternoon in Kansas City or something, and then these are enormous stadiums, these are NFL stadiums, you

Nestor Aparicio 7:10
know, locals even want to come, I mean, I am a guy that would give them $100 to see Ecuador play Portugal, whatever, but like, you know, even if it were across the street, I don’t know 80,000 people around here that want to go do that, or 10,000 or you know, anywhere in suburbs, even if you sort of like the sport a little bit, it’s hard enough to get people to go to freaking Orioles games here, you know, and they’re supposed to love the Orioles, that’s the weird part for me, is like, who’s going to fill these places, and look, you’ve been around and seen World Cup’s different in other places, where people love soccer, and they’ll just go see anybody kick a ball, and I think I’ve seen this with Olympics, where they put them in weird places in weird times, and you see all these NP seats, or even the women’s World Cup had had some of that going on as well. I don’t know, I don’t know what to expect. I know I wanted to participate. I know I can’t financially participate. And then there’s just the part of how ugly all of this is that you began with people don’t even want to do business with FIFA. That’s how that’s how filthy this is. And welcome, welcome to the World Cup. Here we are.

Steven Goff 8:12
Yeah, no, I think you have to remember that the most highly attended World Cup in history was in the United States in 1994 and yes, it was a smaller tournament, but at that time soccer was barely on the radar in America. It’s 32 years later, the sport has exploded on the professional level. It’s there’s a full blown women’s league. The sport is more accessible to people than ever before, because you just turn on your phone and you can watch Premier League one minute and Bundesliga the next minute, and then Champions League a few days later, and it’s all available, and so it doesn’t seem as foreign as it used to. It’s very.. it’s there’s a.. there’s a comfort level now that you know you can watch Real Madrid, and it doesn’t seem like, you know, it’s, it’s a million miles away.

Nestor Aparicio 9:08
It’s an HDMI. You and I are old enough to remember in the 70s when these games would come in, they would come in via satellite, and it looked like they came from Mars. I mean,

Steven Goff 9:17
oh yeah, and even as of, even as of, you know, 1520, years ago, the only games you could see were on, you know, home team sports on delay at two in the morning. It’s not like that anymore. And so, you know, the sport is the sport has grown immensely. You know, there’s some polls that have been taken that it’s not major league soccer, but soccer, lowercase s has has caught up to baseball, it’s a generate, there’s a huge generational gap. Stalker fans are typically younger, they’re more cosmopolitan, they’re more diverse, and it’s really a reflection of America. And so I think the, I think the tournament will do very well. All the question is, this is now an expanded tournament. There’s 48 teams, there’s 104 games. You’re playing in very large stadiums, for the most part. You know, it’s asking a lot, and when you put the financial burden on fans and on municipalities, we’ll see how this plays out, but I think, yeah, sure, there’ll be some games where there it’s not going to be sold out, but look, it’s 104 matches, it’s a lot, it’s asking a lot. There’s no other sport in the world, in any country, that sells tickets like soccer, and I think it’ll, it’ll do very well here, but again, we’ll see what it looks like on game days.

Nestor Aparicio 10:44
You know what’s asking a lot, asking a lot is right now $689 to see Ecuador and Ivory Coast on Sunday, and Philadelphia on the 14th. Like, I, I, I just, how rich you’d have to be to be from Ivory Coast or Ecuador to get here. How rich you’d have to be here and be from there, and care enough to spend $700 when most people in Philadelphia, they’ve never spent $700 on an Eagles ticket, or six, or asking for people to come who, and they’re to your point, there’s a lot, I just think the speculation part of this, as we look at this, it feels like a really big mountain to me all the way through. I mean, I know we’ll pull it off and the games will happen, and the airports will airport, and fans will come, but I’m just wondering how this really turns out, and all of my angst about Baltimore getting boned and thinking we were just in because Washington had to be in. As I look at this and hold my nose this month a little bit during the tournament, and look, I love soccer. I guess I’ll fall in. I’ll fall in when there’s nothing else to do at noon on a Tuesday when I’m looking at some of these games, you know. Germany’s playing curacao, right? I mean, I’m gonna watch that, you know. I’m telling you right now, I’m gonna, why I’m start watching it, and it’s gonna reel me in, because that’s the beauty of the tournament, I think, right.

Steven Goff 12:00
Absolutely, yeah. And, but, like the other day, for instance, the United States played a friendly against Senegal in Charlotte, North Carolina. There were 57,000 people there. It was a hell of a crowd for a friendly. There are also, I would say, probably I don’t know, 810 1000 Senegalese fans there, and they’re not coming over from Senegal, Senegal. These are expats who live in the United States, who have deep ties to their heritage, to their culture, to their country, and they will turn out, and they will turn out for Senegal in the World Cup, no matter where they play, because this is the most important moment for their country from a sporting standpoint, and so, yeah, people will spend life savings.

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Nestor Aparicio 12:47
Every one of these is a Super Bowl for every country, like if you live in America, or live anywhere on this continent, or in this hemisphere.

Steven Goff 12:55
Sure, the world, the World Cup is, I mean, you know, each individual game, especially in the group stage, is not necessarily, but yeah, I mean, like a country like Curacao, it’s a tiny country and island of the Caribbean that many of us only know as a vacation spot. They qualify for the World Cup for the first time, they were able to qualify for the World Cup because of the expanded field, but that’s, you know, that’s all part of this, it’s a, it’s an incredible story. It’s a former Dutch territory, so you have a lot of Dutch influence. Obviously, the Dutch are very good at the sport, and so you know, if you have, like, a course out Germany game, it’s just a, it’s, it’s a, it’s a fascinating matchup. It’s, you know, it’s a, it’s a one versus 16 in the NCAA basketball tournament.

Nestor Aparicio 13:42
Well, I mean, Haiti, Uzbekistan, I mean, just, you know, countries you wouldn’t necessarily.. I’ve never seen or rooted for, and you know, I’ve traveled all over the place, and I know the passion of this. I mean, I plopped down in the middle of Buenos Aires six weeks ago, and you know Maradona’s there and Messi is there and it’s everywhere and culturally, how are we doing? How’s the US team? I mean, that’s what you’ve been tracking, by the way. Steve Golf is your longtime insider at the Washington Post for all things football, we’ll call it soccer and World Cup, but how long’s the US going to stay in its own tournament at this point, and it is a big field, and it’s, it’s a different kind of tournament than it’s ever been, really. Right?

Steven Goff 14:26
Yeah. Now, you know, as a host, there’s a lot of pressure on the US team, as there is on Mexico and Canada as well. This is a US team on paper that should be the best we’ve ever produced, because of where the players are professionals, you know, Christian Pulisic plays for AC Milan, Weston McKinney is at Juventus, Tim Way is at Olympic Marseille. There are players in the Premier League, there are players in the Bundesliga, you know, the numbers and the roles they. On these clubs support the, you know, the fact that this is individually the best US team. Now you have to perform as a group, as a team. That’s on Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentine coach, to make it all happen. Uh, they look very good the other day against Senegal. Senegal’s ranked higher in the world than the US, and the US, US took them apart in the early part of the match, you know, it’s a friendly, so there’s subs, and the US ended up winning three two, but that was a positive sign after a very troubling march window, where they were just pummeled by Belgium, outclassed, and then beaten thoroughly by Portugal, they had a great fall, you know, they beat Uruguay, they beat Paraguay, beat Australia, there was a, there was a draw in there, so you know, they, they had a good fall, a questionable spring, and now we’re in the build up, they’ll play Germany this Saturday in Chicago, it’s the final tune up before they go in the World Cup. Ultimately, you’d love to see them get to a quarter final, which they haven’t done since 2002 You know, realistically, you know, the past few tournaments, the farthest they’ve gone is round to 16, and so you know you really want to see them at home with this team with the players, they have to make, take that next step, you know. This is not a World Cup championship contending team. I mean, look, only eight countries have ever won the World Cup, only six countries have won it more than once. England, where this modern sport was born, they won it once, and that was 60 years ago. So, you know, the thought of winning the World Cup is, is not realistic, but you know, you got to believe, and you got to play, and we’ll see how it goes. The group stage that they’re in, there are no superpowers, you know, there’s no Argentina or Brazil, they’re going to play Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey. Turkey’s probably the favorite in the group, the US could finish first, they could finish fourth, probably somewhere in between. If everything goes right, they win the group. So, you know, we’ll see how it goes, but yeah, expectations are certainly rising, and you know, there’s a spotlight on them.

Nestor Aparicio 17:16
You know, it’s funny, man, you mentioned Turkey. I, I saw the US team play Turkey in a friendly maybe, oh eight, you know, like six, 810, somewhere in there, and it was crazy how many turkey fans were in Philadelphia, in that, in the stadium, where they were going to play World Cup, they played turkey last summer in Hartford, and the crowd was, I’d say 5050 at best, because you know there’s an enormous Turkish American community here, and this is, you know, their national soccer team means everything to them. It’s that’s a typical story anywhere a US team plays, often times they are especially against a Latin American team, they are, they do not have the majority of the crowd.

Nestor Aparicio 18:04
Well, they don’t play in LA anymore against Mexico, right?

Steven Goff 18:07
Yeah, that doesn’t happen, but it’s a reflection, it’s a reflection of America, you know. We’re a diverse country, we’re a complicated country, and you know, for example, 2018 World Cup, US wasn’t there in Russia, but you know there were 10s of 1000s of Americans in Russia at the World Cup supporting, you know, their families,

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Nestor Aparicio 18:35
Italy or whatever, right? Yeah,

Steven Goff 18:37
sure. Well, there were a lot. The one that really stood out for me in Russia were the Peruvians. There were 10s of that, there were 1000s of Peruvians in Russia all over the place, and a lot of them were Americans, because you know they have the means. We are a relatively wealthy country, and people were able to go. They care about their team. They weren’t necessarily from Peru, but they were there supporting

Nestor Aparicio 19:03
Peru. Steve Goff has been covered, so how long? Tell me, exactly. When did you get to the post? Uh,

Steven Goff 19:09
well, I started when I was still a student at American University part-time, just covering high school sports and things, and I started covering college soccer, so that was like late 80s, I mean, I technically

Nestor Aparicio 19:22
met you, John Hart, maybe George Mason University. I was down there covering something, maybe World Cup 92 maybe. No, I was at the paper, I don’t know, dude. I feel like it’s.. have you ever done anything else? I mean, this has been soccer has been your thing from the beginning of time, as I remember it. I mean, I think you’ve done other things, but like, but this is your life’s passion, right? And yeah, and this month with the cup coming here, you mentioned 32 years, I mean, I’ve, I’ve been on the air 34 and a half years, just on the radio that long. I met you before I was on the radio, but I like, I remember all of these World Cups, I have my 90. Jersey downstairs, and oh, my buddy was supposed to go in 98 with me and bailed, and then in oh two was really going to go and bail, and that was the year that they went nuts and played, and I threw these huge parties, oh six, my wife and I went to Germany, and we loved that we were going to go to South Africa in 10, but the economy fell apart here, and all my friends were like, “We’re broke, we can’t go, so I wound up not going. And then, after that, you know, my wife was going through her transplant when Germany won the cup in Brazil, and we were supposed to, you know, we were thinking about going. My wife got cancer, so like just being on this trail of waiting for this World Cup here, pimping it out, having all of the gear to try to get Baltimore the cup and have it come here, did we miss out? I mean, you know, I mean, we started with this with Trump and his cage fights and the political, and like, all that’s all going to live in the middle of all of this, but like I’m thinking, like if Paraguay was playing here two weeks from Monday, what this region would be more excited about it, for sure. But I don’t. Would it have been a loss? Would it have been a bad thing financially?

Steven Goff 21:10
Yeah, financially, I mean, you know, you know, I don’t have the contracts in front of me, but the city’s basically hand over everything to FIFA. This is FIFA’s tournament. FIFA has the leverage. FIFA says, “Hey, this is the biggest sporting event in the world. You want to be part of it? Sign the contract.

Nestor Aparicio 21:27
What does that mean, though? Like, you get me into the weeds of things that cities are doing that’s really pissing the mayor off or the governor in New Jersey. Like, I’ve seen snipping, but I’m trying to understand other than getting pushed around a little bit by the King for three weeks, what’s really going on here?

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Steven Goff 21:46
Well, the revenue goes to FIFA. I mean, all revenue goes to FIFA. I don’t like, I don’t have the contracts in front of me.

Nestor Aparicio 21:52
What does that mean? All revenue, like

Steven Goff 21:54
all revenue, merchant merchandise, parking, tickets, everything, all the stuff that you know a city, a stadium, a team would typically collect for a sporting event. FIFA takes all of it, and cities do this because they want the honor of being a World Cup city, and that does carry some weight, but you know, you’re you’re certainly not going to make money off it. You know, there’s all these projections every time an Olympics or World Cup comes through, that you know there’s this massive windfall from hotels and visitors and things, and obviously there are visitors and all, but it always falls short. And in this situation, like in New Jersey and in Massachusetts, where transportation is a big issue, and so you know typically at a World Cup transportation is subsidized by local governments or the national government. In this case, you know, it’s not necessarily subsidized, so fans are having to pay a fee to ride a train, you know, just to get to the stadium. So it’s going to be an issue, and I think it’s going to be an issue when people are, you know, waiting to get back on a shuttle to get back to wherever they’re going, and one of those horrible summer thunderstorms, as we know so well around the country, particularly in the Northeast, hits you, and you’re with your kids, and you’ve already paid 200 300 $400 per ticket, so yeah, no, it’s a lot, and you know the World Cup certainly has its magic, but there’s there’s a line to be drawn. Would have been nice to have games in Washington, Baltimore. Absolutely, it would have been greater accessibility for people to see the games, and like I said, I think ticket prices will come down as the things thing gets closer. You know, it’s a once of a once in a generation opportunity to go to these matches, they’re a huge amount of fun, and for all of FIFA’s faults, the actual game presentation and everything around it is pretty remarkable, and you know that’s coming from someone who’s seen a lot of these over the last 32 years, it’s there’s nothing, there’s nothing much like it when you go to when you go to a World Cup match, even, even at the group stage.

Nestor Aparicio 24:04
Well, my wife and I walked that hill in Kaiser Slaughter to that, that stadium, and to see, you know, Italy play the United States in Germany in the Rhineland, and all the Italy fans were seeing, oh so, and, and more than anything, even like when Turkey shows up, the food smells so good in the parking lot. So, if you’re there, eat, eat well, enjoy, go to the tailgates, even if you can’t afford the tickets. I guess Steve Golf is here. He covers the great game of soccer, the beautiful game for Yahoo, after many, many, many years at the Washington Post, full coverage, you’re going to places. What, what are you, what’s your angle on this? What I mean from the soccer perspective, you mentioned the superpowers of Brazil and Argentina. What else are you watching in regard to who might be there in the Final Four?

Steven Goff 24:57
Well, I’ll be, I’ll be with the US team the entire time. So they’re their base camp starting on Sunday this coming Sunday will be in Irvine, California. Their group stages are all West Coast, two in Los Angeles, one in Seattle. So I’ll be with them. What else are we watching? Yeah, I mean, from a competitive standpoint, we’ll see how this plays out. It’s certainly Lionel Messi’s last World Cup, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup. You know, there’s some young stars, there’s some new teams that we’ve never seen before. You know, the climate, the environment is going to play a factor. Most of these players are not accustomed to playing in the type of weather we experience in the US. European summers are very different from American summers, so we’re going to see, you know, we’re going to see some exhaustion set in. We’re also going to see water hydration breaks for all games. It doesn’t matter if they’re playing indoor, like in, you know, Houston and Dallas or Atlanta, or if you’re outdoor, and it doesn’t matter what the temperature is, they’ve taken the breaks, and you know, part of that is, you know, FIFA wants to give Fox and TV rights holders more opportunities to sell ads during these breaks between each half.

Nestor Aparicio 26:14
I forgot all of that, that it’s Fox too, right? It’s like that, I gotta watch, I have to fund Fox to fund FIFA is what happened.

Steven Goff 26:22
Yeah, I mean, Fox says English rights, Spanish rights are Telemundo and Peacock. Peacock can show the matches, they have to show them in Spanish because NBC does not have the English rights to it. So, there are options to watch the games, all the.. you’ll see a lot of fields that look different from when you see them in an NFL game. You know, the Dallas Stadium, they’ve built a platform up high to give the proper width of a soccer field. It’s amazing that a lot of these new NFL stadiums didn’t have the foresight to build them with proper width for more than just NFL games, because you bring in soccer, soccer’s field is much wider than an NFL game, and so they’ve had to alter and cut out corners of places like Meadowlands and Gillette Stadium. It’ll, it’s, it’s going to be a different, definitely a different scene when you watch these matches at those from those stadiums,

8

Nestor Aparicio 27:22
dude, I’ve appreciated you. I mean, you stayed in the lane of soccer as this thing has grown, as we talked about for 35 years, it’s going to grow. It’s finally here. I hope you have the greatest month ever. I hope it’s fun for everybody. I hope the ball kicks straight. I hope there’s no terrorism, tragedy, weird stuff. I hope Trump shut that. That’s not going to happen for a month, but I mean, I just hope it goes well. That’s all I want it to go well for the US team. I want it to go well for our country. I really do.

Steven Goff 27:50
Yep, yep. No, I agree with you. It’s going to be.. it’s a massive undertaking, and especially with three countries involved across a huge amount of land space, but I think I think it’ll, I think, I think we’ll, it’ll live up to expectation, particularly when we get into the knockout rounds, and you see some, see some classic matchups,

Nestor Aparicio 28:14
and, dude, I haven’t even laid it into my calendar yet, not even in like a gray tone, to just hit the little FIFA button, so they all the games show up, and it’s in my grid. It’s, it’s so close. I got to do that now, like I got to put them in there, just so I know who’s playing when, where, because I can’t. There’s certain.. I mean, Germany’s playing, I’m not missing it. Portugal’s playing, Brazil’s playing, so I’m probably not missing much. I guess I’ll be watching a lot of soccer. Steve Goff is here. If you love the great game, follow him out on Yahoo. All the smart people do, and a nod to the late great Grant Wall, who used to always join me this time of year, who we’re missing immensely. And have a great cup, man. Enjoy yourself, and I’ll, I’ll see in four years, you and

Steven Goff 28:54
me. Yeah, man. Thanks a lot, brother.

Nestor Aparicio 28:55
Thanks, Steve Golf, joining us here, longtime Washington Post, one of my key Mesopotes from four decades ago, back when I was in the typing school of Radio Shacks and Tandies and Trash 80s, him Nestor, we are WNSD, am 15 70,000 Baltimore, we never stopped talking, Baltimore positive.