What the World Cup Can Teach the American Fan, with John Green and Daniel Alarcón
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What insights can we gain from the World Cup as American fans?
Welcome to Pablo Torre Finds Out. I am Pablo Torre, and today we're going to find out what this sound is.
You either have to love something together or you have to hate something together. And the great thing about the 26 players sitting in front of me right now is that you all f***ing hate your coach. Right after this ad.
I remember the first time I was in this studio, I was like, I can't believe that an audio podcast has all this stuff. And then I slowly realized that it was just that I'd glimpsed the future.
You know, John... I like to think that the future of media looks like as what Patrick designed here, which is... It's awesome. Psychedelic in ways that delight me. Yeah. It feels like you're playing laser tag on acid sometimes.
Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah, it does give laser tag vibes.
So I always want to figure out the appropriate way to call a MacArthur genius a genius. Sure. Daniel Allercone, thank you for being here.
Yeah, it's good to be here.
John Green... How would you explain the genius of the guy sitting next to you?
Thanks for asking. The most uncomfortable thing in the world for Daniel is having won this award and me calling him a MacArthur genius every chance I get. Basically, Daniel is an important novelist, a major Peruvian-American novelist, but also a really important journalist. He writes for The New Yorker. He writes for Radio Ambulante, the brilliant Spanish-language podcast that he helped found. And he is a proper genius, and I've known him since I was 14, so I feel qualified to say that.
Well, Daniel, do you have a way of describing John as you curdle inside of yourself in response to his compliment?
Yeah, people listening on audio can't see precisely how uncomfortable that makes me. Yeah, so I've known John for a very long time.
How do John Green and Daniel Alarcón view the role of sports in society?
John is... One of the most brilliant observers of human ego and vanity that I've ever met. He is as kind in every interaction as he is on the page because he extends this incredible generosity to his characters. It has always really made me jealous. And then he's just a great friend and a huge Liverpool fan to the point of, you know, possibly like to his own detriment, you know?
Yeah, probably.
I'm definitely an AFC Wimbledon fan to my own detriment. You could argue that all sports fandom is kind of to one's detriment because winning is so rare, you know?
If you haven't noticed, this is our World Cup episode. Hey-o! And I want to establish that John Green has been a guest on the show before to talk about his last book, Everything is Tuberculosis, which is quietly also kind of a soccer story, I dare say. Because if nothing else, John Green is one of the strangest proprietors of a professional soccer club on the planet. For sure. How should we just speed people up on AFC Wimbledon?
Well, so I'm not an AFC Wimbledon fan. I actually don't.
I love that, by the way.
Yeah, it hurts my feelings, but I take it. I'm not convinced that they're real because John just keeps talking about this team and there's so much narrative that he builds around this club that it feels almost like one of his novels that he's invented. And I will not believe they're real until he takes me to a game and we get to actually prove it because right now it's just like this magical realist novel that he's created in his head.
Well, it's as good as a novel, and thank you for acknowledging that. It is.
Hasn't quite made as much money as The Fault in Our Stars.
This weekend's box office produced a summer surprise. The teen romance The Fault in Our Stars had a $48 million opening weekend. Well, the young women and a few men turned out in droves for The Fault in Our Stars this weekend. Number one in the box office, $48 million. Poor Tom Cruise. The Edge of Tomorrow, debuting in third place.
We're not there yet.
What personal experiences shape their perspectives on soccer?
Someday we will be. Don't you worry, Pablo. AFC Wimbledon is going to pay off in ways that no one can imagine. I'm going to be the Ryan Reynolds. That's right. I'm going to go all the way with them. No, they're owned by their fans. So it's a different model than a club like Wrexham or any other football club in England can have.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What insights can we gain from the World Cup as American fans?
0:00–2:01
2
How do John Green and Daniel Alarcón view the role of sports in society?
2:01–4:01
3
What personal experiences shape their perspectives on soccer?
4:01–5:16
4
How does fandom influence the power dynamics in sports leagues?
5:16–6:19
5
What lessons can American fans learn from international soccer culture?
6:19–7:37
6
How do John and Daniel describe the emotional impact of the World Cup?
7:37–9:12
7
What challenges do American soccer players face compared to their international counterparts?
9:12–11:02
8
What does John Green's pep talk reveal about American soccer identity?
11:02–40:51
Speakers
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