Most people looked at the World Cup and saw soccer. I think the bigger story is how this event became a shared national experience, but with a huge distinction: Americans didn’t become soccer fans overnight. We became fans of the event.
Millions of people who couldn’t explain offside or extra time still watched. They wore jerseys. They gathered in bars. They learned player names. They wanted to be part of something.
Radio often makes the same mistake recording artists do, in this regard.
We think people fall in love with our product. Many fall in love with the experience surrounding the product. People didn’t line up because soccer changed. They lined up because the event felt important.
There’s a lesson there. “90 minutes of commercial-free hits” versus fun imaging, clever, prepared, storytelling talent between those hits. Giving away a pair of concert tickets versus giving away tickets that include a fan experience with an artist.
Community still beats convenience.
For years we’ve heard that technology isolates us. Then the World Cup happened. Thousands stood shoulder to shoulder in fan zones. Neighborhoods decorated themselves. People from dozens of countries celebrated together. Nobody said, “I’ll just watch the highlights later.” They wanted to experience it with other people.
That’s exactly what local radio has always done at its best.
The bigger opportunity is creating more moments people want to experience together. Sitting at a desk posting on posting social media or getting out and experiencing life with your listeners.
The World Cup proved live still matters.
In an on-demand world, everyone showed up at the same time. Nobody wanted to hear about the winning goal three hours later. They wanted to experience it in real time.
Radio has always owned “right now.”
Traffic.
Breaking news.
Weather.
Morning shows.
Local personalities.
We’ve spent years apologizing because we aren’t on demand. Maybe we’ve forgotten that our biggest strength is the exact opposite. Think “right now” instead of “maybe later”.
Hospitality matters.
The way Americans welcomed visitors. Whether every experience was perfect isn’t really the point. The goal was to make people feel welcome.
Radio has gotten away from that mindset. Do we welcome every new listener?
Every first-time advertiser?
Every new employee?
Every intern?
Do they feel like they’re joining something they’re excited to be part of? Or are they simply entering another workplace or just seeing another tent with two people behind a table?
Nobody spent the tournament complaining soccer wasn’t football.
People simply enjoyed it for what it was. Meanwhile, radio spends an enormous amount of energy talking about what it isn’t.
“We’re not Spotify.” “We’re not TikTok.” The World Cup never tried to become the NFL. It doubled down on what made it unique. Radio should stop comparing itself to everyone else and become unapologetically better at being radio.
This isn’t really about soccer. It’s about proving that, despite every prediction that technology would isolate us into millions of individual screens, people still crave moments that everyone is talking about at the same time.
The World Cup exposed that desire. Radio has been built around it for over 100 years. If people are still hungry to gather, belong, celebrate, welcome strangers, and share something live, why isn’t radio doing more to create those moments?
