The World Cup has officially come to an end. This means we are no longer blessed with daily soccer matches during the workday, weekday bar outings, or last-minute watch parties.

And while this tournament is over, there’s no denying that I’ll be reminiscing about these last 39 days and all the moments that made me believe. Not just in my team, but in teams like Cape Verde, among soccer fans, and maybe humanity too. Well, kind of.

During the group stage, the World Cup vibes were at their absolute peak. The energy was contagious. If you were out and about, chances are you became friends with a complete stranger because they were wearing your country’s jersey. Or maybe your feed served you a video of a random Korean fan in Mexico getting tossed into the air while everyone chanted, “Hermano coreano, ya eres mexicano.” And those are just two examples.

The workplace was buzzing. Friends were suddenly down to hang out on a Tuesday afternoon. The internet was flooded with videos of fans from countries that had probably never crossed paths before celebrating together, teaching each other chants, sharing food, swapping jerseys, and introducing one another to their cultures.

For a brief moment, it honestly felt like the world was united. Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. We were all living inside our little fútbol bubble. But there’s no denying that things felt… different. Better. So much so that I found myself wondering two things:

First: I never want this World Cup to end because I’m going to be so sad when it’s over.

And second: Could these good vibes actually continue after the World Cup?

Short answer? I don’t think so

Not because I want to be pessimistic, but because it’s probably true. Trust me, I wanted to believe otherwise. Beyond believing in the Mexican national team, I started wondering:

¿Y si sí?

¿Y si these good vibes did continue?

¿Y si we kept being curious about strangers?

¿Y si we kept making time for spontaneous hangouts in the middle of the week?

¿Y si we stayed just a little more open to each other?

But, alas, everything good comes to an end.

As teams started getting eliminated, the vibes slowly changed.

Some fans lost interest. People weren’t as eager to strike up conversations with strangers about the tournament. Those random weekday watch parties became less frequent.

And once the knockout stage arrived, what started as friendly competition with people saying, “Good game,” slowly turned into something a little more intense.

Which brings me back to the question: Why can’t we hold onto at least some of those World Cup vibes?

And I’m not pointing fingers or saying it’s anyone’s fault. We all have responsibilities.

Trust me, as much as I loved meeting up with the homies for a random Tuesday watch party at 7 p.m., I’m also a dad. My kid has a bedtime. I can’t be out every night. Although during the World Cup, we definitely pushed bedtime back an hour or two a couple of times.

But I am genuinely curious. What would it actually take to keep even a fraction of this energy alive?

Another major tournament a few months from now? Yeah… not happening. I’m not saying we need to live in permanent World Cup mode. But I do think we’d all benefit from holding onto at least some of those moments of connection that felt so natural over the last month.

I know this is starting to sound a little preachy. But think about it.

There’s so much in the world that feels completely out of our control. Yet these last 39 days felt like something we all shared. Something that belonged to us. Something that made us believe.

So instead of immediately slipping back into “normal” and letting the doomscrolling, routines, and endless responsibilities consume us again, wouldn’t it be nice to believe and still talk to strangers? Still make time for our friends on a random weekday? Trust that we don’t have to keep drifting further away from each other just because the tournament is over?

Or maybe I’m just emotional because the World Cup ended. What do you think?

Did this World Cup feel different to you too? Did it make you believe, even for a little while, that we don’t have to live so disconnected from strangers, friends, and the world around us? Or… was FIFA’s marketing department just playing with my emotions?

Tags: world cup