The World Cup and the American Exception: Soccer, Identity, and Belonging

Why is soccer the world's game—but still not America's? As North America prepares to host the largest World Cup in history, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel tackle a question that goes far beyond sports. Joined by acclaimed writer Franklin Foer and scholar Andrei Markovits, they explore why soccer became a global language of identity, nationalism, and belonging while America developed its own sporting culture. The conversation moves from packed stadiums in Europe and South America to suburban soccer fields across the United States, asking whether America's relationship with soccer is finally changing. Along the way, the guests examine globalization, immigration, fandom, and the ways sports become proxies for deeper cultural and political questions. The discussion also turns to Jewish identity, from Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax to the challenges facing Jews in contemporary public life. What role do athletes play in shaping communal belonging? And what can the World Cup teach us about the tension between universal connection and particular identity?   Franklin Foer:https://www.theatlantic.com/author/franklin-foer/ Andrei Markovits: https://www.andreimarkovits.com/   Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove: https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove Park Avenue Synagogue:https://www.pasyn.org https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/# Jon Frankel: https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.