The Beautiful Grift

 

Today America welcomes a record-setting 48 countries to compete in this year’s FIFA World Cup soccer competition. Despite an endless number of stadiums that could hold this event, the kickoff will be in…Mexico. Yes, we’ve literally outsourced hosting athletic events to cheaper providers.

If all of this strikes you as odd (Canada has a few games as well, begging the question if President Trump was really serious about adding these countries as new US states), you would be right. This should be a Democratic Socialist dream time—a game so simple that (and think of Pele) you can learn it in your bare feet kicking around a bundled-up ball of socks. But as Democratic Socialists in this country (and from around the world) have shown, not only has the big money corrupted the dream, but also the dream is now dead.

Of all people, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill sounded this alarm the loudest. In true Jersey Democratic Socialist style, her new reign has featured additional taxes and business-crushing regulations that continue the Garden State’s rapid decline. Audacious even by Jersey standards, she announced that Jersey Transit train tickets would be, hold your breath, $150 round trip between New York City’s Penn Station and the “New York New Jersey Stadium” (a.k.a. Met Life Stadium, a.k.a. the new Giants stadium). Now that wasn’t for all eight games, that was per game. It is also a round-trip ride that normally goes for $13. Left unseen was the sight of Jersey mobster loan sharks scratching their heads wondering how you can get away with that kind of robbery.

Sherrill justified this price point as a response to “New Jersey Transit losing $45 million” for this service. The logical extension to this is that Jersey Transit loses $90 million a year for all of the Jets and Giants games they serve. If true (and as we will see it isn’t), this would be only slightly less painful than having to watch all the Jets and Giants games. Given that Sherrill is an engineering graduate from the Naval Academy, I’d expect her math to be top notch. Given that Sherrill did not walk in her college graduation for unspecified conduct violations, I’m always leery of trusting any of her numbers.

So what could possibly be going on here?

Maybe Sherrill is still aggravated about New York City’s commuter tax every time a car goes into Manhattan.

Maybe she’s pissed off that everyone seems to be staying in New York and just using the Jersey stadium to watch the game, pee, and then go back to New York.

Maybe she’s annoyed that the name “New York” is associated with Jersey’s hosting—as if the New York name is the pixie dust that hides the World Cup’s dirty little secret.

What Sherill should have done is articulate the reason behind the money grab—it’s that her predecessor signed a deal that, even by the most fluid of sporting economic models, guaranteed that Jersey taxpayers would pay to have the games, not earn money by hosting.

Buried in the details of the hosting agreement were FIFA’s demands to eliminate sales tax on tickets; take over the entire parking lot for “fan experiences,” VIP tents and security (thus eliminating tax revenue from parking), and second-only-to-the-President-visiting security requirement (paid for, naturally, by the state). There’s even a requirement that FIFA could demand a temporary dome over the stadium—not at FIFA’s expense, of course. The money has got to come from somewhere, and what’s an extra few bucks after folks have paid (directly to FIFA) a grand or more for nosebleed seats.

The other side of the Hudson, in a state that isn’t hosting so much as a pickup game, isn’t fairing any better than this. Mayor Mamdani is declaring a “state of emergency” on game days and closing off access to Penn Station except to ticket holders. Which is odd, since the only state of emergency on game days is usually associated with the Jets and Giants defense. Although closing off Penn Station might not be such a bad idea, as five innocent commuters were slashed by (of course) a repeat violent attacker the night before President Trump visited just above at Madison Square Garden for Monday’s Knicks game.

Maybe this will be the tipping point to end the absurdity surrounding these large events, much like breakdancing nearly broke the Paris Olympics’ sense of any sporting purpose. I’d feel better if the US team had a chance, but quite literally the entire world is showing up with their best. Unlike bombing Iran, our soccer precision is not as advanced—as a country we don’t celebrate faking seemingly bone-crushing injuries only to get up moments later and run like the wind. I’ll cheer our lads on, refusing to comment on their “kit” (uniforms), how they play on the “pitch” (field), or if they dribble through a “nil-nil (0-0 tie) game. My celebration will be knowing that the $150 I spend on really good food and drink in front of my TV isn’t going to Jersey’s bottomless tax hunger or FIFA’s corruption of the beautiful game.

© 2026 Alexander W. Stephens, All Rights Reserved.