Astros helped create a special American sports moment for World Cup soccer super fan

While soccer is a dirty word to some people, the ongoing World Cup has been an absolute delight across the country. Soccer fans from all over the globe are getting a taste (often for the first time) of American culture, including food and other sports, and appearing to be as happy as a tick on a fat dog while doing so. One need only look at how Scottish soccer fans have basically taken over Boston to see how much joy is being spread and how communities have embraced their visitors. Well, the Houston Astros recently got a small taste of that, and it is just great.

One of the social media accounts that has captured this traveling World Cup fan phenomenon better than almost anyone goes by the handle @FreddyLA7. Freddy is very obviously a diehard soccer fan, but has been living their best life while in the US, including their first visit to Waffle House, and has been embraced pretty much everywhere they go in their travels to follow the World Cup. In a world that can be such a cynical place, this has been a Ted Lasso-level wholesome, feel-good story.

Well, Freddy's travels brought his group to Houston this week to experience their first MLB baseball game. The moment...was perfect.

Astros join growing list of American institutions that are capturing World Cup visitors' attention

Now, this was pretty tame compared to some of the other World Cup-related shenanigans that have been going on. Aside from the Scots taking over Boston, we have seen Chattanooga host Spanish team-themed World Cup watch parties and even a community in West Virginia, of all places, fly Iraqi flags while the Iraqi national team trains there. This was "just" some soccer fans attending their first baseball game in Houston.

However, that doesn't make it any less special, and it is a moment that will live with those travelers (and others like them) for years to come. Now, we can't make a pristine silk purse out of a sow's ear here, because the game they attended was terrible for the Astros. Kai-Wei Teng got chased early, and the bullpen did little to actually stop the bleeding. None of that actually mattered to these fans, who just wanted to see the sport that America made famous. One hopes that just a few more baseball fans were made that night, though hopefully they don't hold the performance against the Astros.

What is even more fun is that the World Cup runs all the way into the middle of July. It is probably a bit much to ask that scores of soccer fans show up in Yordan Alvarez jerseys, although that would be great. That said, hopefully, more and more international fans get a chance to enjoy some Astros games or any other baseball games for that matter. While the novelty is likely to wear off over time, it is moments like these that help the sport grow.

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