It’s over. The long-awaited FIFA World Cup 2026, as quickly as it arrived, ended just as quickly. With Spain’s triumph over Argentina, we began to see that these were the final minutes of an event we have awaited for several years. Especially in the three countries where this tournament was held and in the host cities such as Houston, the sense of the end of this great football event is felt as well.
Here we learned that we were the host on June 16, 2022. Four years from that date we were already enjoying the World Cup at home. We were already celebrating with all the visitors who came to see their teams, and some of us even had the opportunity to attend games.
If we had to describe the arrival of the World Cup to our city, we would undoubtedly begin by saying that this opportunity only happens once in a lifetime. It was up to our generation to witness the passion of football in our streets, in our restaurants and bars, in our public transit, and on every corner in our city.
The color and the vibe of the approaching World Cup began from the early months of this year. Little by little, Houston began to wear the colors, thus embodying what would become one of the fans’ favorite venues as they traveled through several cities following their teams.
We saw in our local stadium the most prominent footballers of this era play, such as Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal or Florian Wirtz of Germany. They were not the only stars, because each team brought to Houston the best of their football, and they all tore it up on the field.
Meanwhile, with downtown Houston as a backdrop, thousands of people visited the Fan Festival, a meeting place to watch the matches. There, in front of the gigantic screens, emotion was felt, tears were shed, laughter was shared, and every goal was celebrated. Moreover, they faced Houston’s ‘crazy’ weather, which is always unpredictable, but people did not give up and there they were, even when the event had to close early due to extreme weather threats.
Today one can already see that the dismantling of this place has begun, but in the heart and memory of those of us who were there, the experience remains of being part of the feeling that only the king of sports can generate.
After more than one hundred matches, we reached the end and many are left asking for more; unfortunately, we have to wait four years to see the World Cup ball roll again.
For now, we must all be satisfied that we lived unique and historic moments that will be etched as part of the World Cup legend, and on this occasion it is up to us to tell them because we lived them.
We were real-time witnesses to unique moments that will never be repeated and that leave us with a lot to tell future generations. Here in Space City we have a lot to tell, and we hope that someday we will have another World Cup here and that we can witness more special moments. If we do not manage to see it this time, I think we are well served. We have already been part of the history of world football, we have already been part of a World Cup.
