For only the second time in history — and the first since 1994 — the U.S. is hosting the FIFA World Cup. This time, we’re sharing the stage with Canada and Mexico, bringing the world’s biggest sporting event to the big cities across North America for the next month.
But my favorite moment of the tournament so far happened away from the host-city spotlight.
It happened in Lawrence, Kansas.
A Midnight Welcome
Shortly after midnight on June 8, with thunderstorms moving through the area, Algeria’s national team pulled into the town it had chosen as its home base for the tournament. Despite the weather and the hour, more than 300 people waited in the rain outside the team hotel, wrapped in Algerian flags, chanting, cheering, and welcoming a team from halfway around the world as if it already belonged there.
In the days that followed, Lawrence continued to show up. A local artist created a quarter-acre Algerian flag in the Kansas grass. On June 11 at Rock Chalk Park, the Marching Jayhawks played Algeria’s national anthem, “Kassaman,” during the team’s community training session, while locals in Algeria’s colors of green, white, and red filled the stands.
The mayor of Lawrence put it simply: “They’ve come to Lawrence and we’ve embraced them, and they’ve embraced us.”
What Soccer Has Taught Me
I’ve spent the better part of 15 years doing marketing related to soccer, helping build fan bases for national teams, club teams, leagues, and major tournaments. Everywhere the sport has taken me, I’ve learned the same thing: soccer may open the door, but it is the stories that bring people together.
The moments where strangers become friends. The moments where kindness, curiosity, and hospitality translate into every language.
The Stories People Are Sharing
That’s why the first two weeks of this World Cup have felt so moving to watch.
I’ve admired some of the marketing around the tournament, from Nike’s star-studded, chaotic “Rip the Script” film to Adidas’ nostalgic, cinematic “Backyard Legends” series. But some of the stories resonating most aren’t coming from brands. They’re coming from visitors from other countries experiencing this country and its people for the first time.
They’re showing up in viral posts of a Norwegian fan trying In-N-Out, a Swedish visitor discovering ranch dressing, Scottish supporters marching through Boston behind bagpipes, and Croatian players meeting kids in Alexandria who will remember that afternoon long after the tournament ends.
And to be clear, this isn’t to suggest Canada and Mexico aren’t creating their own beautiful moments as co-hosts. They are. But as an American, it has been a delight to see this happening here.
The biggest brand winner of this World Cup may be the American people.
Why Experience Beats Messaging
Millions of fans and players are having the opportunity to experience America in upclose and unexpected ways, and are so delighted, that they are sharing those stories around the world.
They are not sharing a slogan or a campaign. They are sharing what it felt like to be welcomed at midnight in Kansas. To hear a college marching band learn another country’s anthem. To be driven to match in the pouring rain by a hotel employee. To be invited into a community. To experience everyday acts of welcome that may feel ordinary to the people offering them, but meaningful to the people receiving them.
As marketers, we spend so much time thinking about how brands are built: positioning, messaging, storytelling, creative platforms. All of that matters.
But deep connection is ultimately built through shared experience.
When Values Become Visible
The lesson for big-hearted brands is that when your values are visible in everyday behavior, people don’t need a slogan to understand who you are and what you stand for.
They feel it, remember it, and tell the story better than any campaign ever could.
About Tom Lillig
Tom Lillig is Managing Partner of Stone Ward's Chicago office and has spent more than 15 years helping brands connect with people through authentic storytelling. His experience spans global and national organizations including U.S. Soccer Federation, Snap-on Tools, Kellogg's, the Peace Corps, and the National Women's Soccer League. Beyond his marketing work, Tom is a speaker, author, and longtime nonprofit leader whose passion for sports, community, and human connection continues to shape his perspective on branding and leadership.
