United States Celebrates Its 250th Anniversary: Hosting the Greatest Sports Event on Earth

The past two weeks have provided major sports fans with some of the greatest sports entertainment in recent history. Sports addicts will forever be discussing the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. Every game came down to the last two or three plays. The New York Nicks won the series 4-1. The play was so outstanding that I wanted it to go on for the full seven games.

Being from Dallas, I was conflicted being for our Texas team and watching the greatest player the Dallas Mavericks ever let go. Yes, Jalen Brunson is better than Lucka Doncic! Bronson never gives up! Only 6-2, he makes impossible shots around the basket! Keeps coming at you! 45 points in the final game!

The talent on the young Spurs team is amazing, but they need some seasoning and to stop those long runs against them when they get well ahead. Watch out for them next year.

In Las Vegas, the Carolina Hurricanes claimed the week’s second major championship by defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.

The big 250th anniversary event, however, is the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which started on June 10 and culminates in the championship game on July 19th at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, across from New York City. Eleven U.S. cities, along with three cities in Mexico and two in Canada, will host the 48-team events. The U.S. expects up to 5.5 million foreign visitors during these events.

Seventy-eight games will be played in the finest stadiums, introducing World Cup football foreign visitors to the investments made in U.S. sports facilities and the potential for future expansion here.

Each city will host six to eight games.

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (Dallas) – Capacity: 94,000
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey – Capacity: 82,500
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia – Capacity: 75,000
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California (Los Angeles) – Capacity: 70,240
NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas – Capacity: 72,220
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri – Capacity: 76,640
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California (San Francisco Bay Area) – Capacity: 71,000
Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington – Capacity: 69,000
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Capacity: 69,328.
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida – Capacity: 65,000
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts (Boston) – Capacity: 64,628

With high expectations, the U.S. team won its first game in Los Angeles, beating Paraguay 4-1 last week.

For the dedicated soccer aficionado, the World Cup will provide 76 hours of elite soccer competition, plus commercials, time-outs, half-times, and pre- and post-game commentary that will test the marital bonds of even the soundest marriage. Simultaneously, Major League Baseball will broadcast almost daily until college and NFL football seasons begin again in late August.

You might want to consider a family outing to one of the national anniversary programs held, which include: