Watching the crowd

Over the weekend, as the World Cup got underway, my husband and daughter were busy watching the football. I wasn't. My husband looked at me and teased, "You spent the whole day watching the fans instead of the football."

I was watching the crowds that gathered outside hotels and along the roads as the teams arrived. As bus after bus pulled up, hundreds of supporters lined the streets.

Some had been waiting for hours. They waved flags, sang songs, cheered, and held up their phones hoping to capture a glimpse of their favourite players. What struck me was that many of them knew they would never get close enough to speak to the players.

They knew they would probably never get an autograph. Some would only see a familiar face through a tinted bus window for a few brief seconds. Yet they waited. And they were happy. There was excitement in the air. Children sat on their parents' shoulders.

Friends gathered together wearing team jerseys. Strangers became companions for a few hours because they shared a common hope: to welcome the team they loved. Watching them, I found myself thinking about something that had nothing to do with football.

The world often seems obsessed with what divides us. Every day we hear about conflicts, political disagreements, religious tensions, and national rivalries. We are constantly reminded of the differences between people. Yet here were individuals from different backgrounds standing shoulder to shoulder, united by nothing more than admiration, excitement, and a desire to be part of a shared moment.

Nobody seemed concerned about who voted for which party. Nobody was asking what religion another supporter belonged to. Nobody was checking where someone's grandparents came from.

For those few hours, people were simply human beings sharing an experience.

I found that beautiful.

Perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects of being human is our capacity to celebrate together. We often talk about our ability to reason, to build civilizations, or to create technology. But we rarely talk about our ability to gather in joy.

To sing together.

To cheer together.

To welcome others.

To feel connected to people we have never met.

Watching those crowds, I realised that what fascinated me was not the players themselves. It was the people waiting for them. The players were the reason they had gathered. But the gathering itself was something larger. It was a reminder that human beings are social creatures.

We seek connection. We seek belonging. We seek moments that allow us to feel part of something beyond ourselves. Sometimes that connection is found in family. Sometimes in community. Sometimes in shared values.

And sometimes, surprisingly, it is found standing by the roadside waiting for a bus carrying a football team. As I watched those supporters cheering and celebrating, I felt an unexpected sense of hope.

Because for a brief moment, I wasn't seeing nations. I wasn't seeing religions. I wasn't seeing ideologies. I was simply watching people finding joy in one another's presence.

And in today's world, that felt like something worth celebrating. ​

June 2026