The Last Time the US Hosted the World Cup, One of the Weirdest Nights in Sports History Unfolded
Key takeaways
- Live sports remain one of the last uniting forces in the American zeitgeist, one of the only things that friends and families gather around the TV for and form a community around.
- The World Cup feels inescapable this year, larger in scale than ever -- more teams, more media coverage -- but it's reminding me of the last time the US hosted the tournament, back in 1994.
- June 17 was the day of the 1994 World Cup opening ceremony.
Live sports remain one of the last uniting forces in the American zeitgeist, one of the only things that friends and families gather around the TV for and form a community around. Even though streaming services and You Tube have fractured viewing audiences and changed our habits, for the most part, people are still tuning in to watch events like the World Cup and NBA Finals live on a major network.
The World Cup feels inescapable this year, larger in scale than ever -- more teams, more media coverage -- but it's reminding me of the last time the US hosted the tournament, back in 1994. Not because of what happened on the pitch, but because of what happened the day the tournament began, as we all gathered around the TV to tune in.
June 17 was the day of the 1994 World Cup opening ceremony. President Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey, arguably two of the most famous people in the world in 1994, were there. It was also the night of game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks (I hate to remind you, but the Knicks lost in seven). That day also saw Ken Griffey Jr. tie one of Babe Ruth's home run records when the Seattle Mariners played the Kansas City Royals. And Arnold Palmer played his last-ever round at the US Open.