{"id":22,"date":"2025-05-28T21:05:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T21:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/?page_id=22"},"modified":"2026-04-28T06:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T06:42:17","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/?page_id=22","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><style>\n@import url('https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css2?family=Playfair+Display:ital,wght@0,700;1,400&family=Source+Serif+4:ital,wght@0,300;0,400;1,300&display=swap');<\/p>\n<p>.u250-about * { box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0; padding: 0; }<\/p>\n<p>.u250-about {<br \/>\n  --ink: #1a1714;<br \/>\n  --ink-muted: #5a534e;<br \/>\n  --ink-faint: #9a9189;<br \/>\n  --cream: #f7f3ee;<br \/>\n  --cream-dark: #ede8e0;<br \/>\n  --red: #b5272b;<br \/>\n  --red-faint: #f2e4e4;<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Source Serif 4', Georgia, serif;<br \/>\n  font-size: 19px;<br \/>\n  line-height: 1.75;<br \/>\n  font-weight: 300;<br \/>\n  color: var(--ink);<br \/>\n  background: var(--cream);<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>\/* HERO *\/<br \/>\n.u250-hero {<br \/>\n  padding: 80px 48px 100px;<br \/>\n  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--cream-dark);<br \/>\n  position: relative;<br \/>\n  background: var(--cream);<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-eyebrow {<br \/>\n  font-size: 12px;<br \/>\n  letter-spacing: 0.2em;<br \/>\n  text-transform: uppercase;<br \/>\n  color: var(--red);<br \/>\n  font-weight: 400;<br \/>\n  margin-bottom: 32px;<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Source Serif 4', Georgia, serif;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-headline {<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Playfair Display', Georgia, serif;<br \/>\n  font-size: clamp(38px, 5.5vw, 72px);<br \/>\n  font-weight: 700;<br \/>\n  line-height: 1.1;<br \/>\n  max-width: 760px;<br \/>\n  letter-spacing: -0.5px;<br \/>\n  margin-bottom: 36px;<br \/>\n  color: var(--ink);<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-headline em {<br \/>\n  font-style: italic;<br \/>\n  font-weight: 400;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-lede {<br \/>\n  font-size: clamp(17px, 2vw, 22px);<br \/>\n  max-width: 600px;<br \/>\n  color: var(--ink-muted);<br \/>\n  line-height: 1.7;<br \/>\n  font-style: italic;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-year {<br \/>\n  position: absolute;<br \/>\n  bottom: 32px;<br \/>\n  right: 48px;<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Playfair Display', Georgia, serif;<br \/>\n  font-size: clamp(60px, 9vw, 110px);<br \/>\n  font-weight: 700;<br \/>\n  color: var(--cream-dark);<br \/>\n  line-height: 1;<br \/>\n  user-select: none;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>\/* STATS *\/<br \/>\n.u250-stats {<br \/>\n  background: #1a1714;<br \/>\n  display: grid;<br \/>\n  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);<br \/>\n  text-align: center;<br \/>\n  padding: 48px 32px;<br \/>\n  gap: 16px;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-stat-number {<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Playfair Display', Georgia, serif;<br \/>\n  font-size: clamp(36px, 5vw, 56px);<br \/>\n  font-weight: 700;<br \/>\n  color: #f0c040;<br \/>\n  display: block;<br \/>\n  margin-bottom: 8px;<br \/>\n  line-height: 1;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-stat-label {<br \/>\n  font-size: 12px;<br \/>\n  letter-spacing: 0.1em;<br \/>\n  text-transform: uppercase;<br \/>\n  color: rgba(247,243,238,0.55);<br \/>\n  font-weight: 400;<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Source Serif 4', Georgia, serif;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>\/* BODY *\/<br \/>\n.u250-content {<br \/>\n  max-width: 680px;<br \/>\n  margin: 0 auto;<br \/>\n  padding: 72px 32px 100px;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-content p {<br \/>\n  margin-bottom: 1.6em;<br \/>\n  font-size: 19px;<br \/>\n  line-height: 1.78;<br \/>\n  color: var(--ink);<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Source Serif 4', Georgia, serif;<br \/>\n  font-weight: 300;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-content p:last-child { margin-bottom: 0; }<\/p>\n<p>\/* Pull quotes *\/<br \/>\n.u250-pull {<br \/>\n  border-left: 3px solid var(--red);<br \/>\n  margin: 52px 0;<br \/>\n  padding: 4px 0 4px 32px;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-pull p {<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Playfair Display', Georgia, serif !important;<br \/>\n  font-size: clamp(20px, 2.8vw, 30px) !important;<br \/>\n  font-style: italic !important;<br \/>\n  font-weight: 400 !important;<br \/>\n  line-height: 1.4 !important;<br \/>\n  color: var(--ink) !important;<br \/>\n  margin-bottom: 0 !important;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>\/* Emphasis underline *\/<br \/>\n.u250-content strong {<br \/>\n  font-weight: 400;<br \/>\n  color: var(--ink);<br \/>\n  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--red);<br \/>\n  padding-bottom: 1px;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>\/* Rule *\/<br \/>\n.u250-rule {<br \/>\n  border: none;<br \/>\n  border-top: 1px solid var(--cream-dark);<br \/>\n  margin: 52px 0;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>\/* CTA *\/<br \/>\n.u250-cta {<br \/>\n  background: var(--red-faint);<br \/>\n  border-top: 2px solid var(--red);<br \/>\n  padding: 64px 48px;<br \/>\n  text-align: center;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-cta h2 {<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Playfair Display', Georgia, serif;<br \/>\n  font-size: clamp(26px, 4vw, 42px);<br \/>\n  font-weight: 700;<br \/>\n  color: var(--ink);<br \/>\n  margin-bottom: 14px;<br \/>\n  line-height: 1.2;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-cta p {<br \/>\n  font-size: 17px;<br \/>\n  color: var(--ink-muted);<br \/>\n  max-width: 460px;<br \/>\n  margin: 0 auto 32px;<br \/>\n  line-height: 1.65;<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Source Serif 4', Georgia, serif;<br \/>\n  font-weight: 300;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-cta-btn {<br \/>\n  display: inline-block;<br \/>\n  background: var(--red);<br \/>\n  color: #f7f3ee !important;<br \/>\n  font-family: 'Source Serif 4', Georgia, serif;<br \/>\n  font-size: 14px;<br \/>\n  letter-spacing: 0.12em;<br \/>\n  text-transform: uppercase;<br \/>\n  text-decoration: none !important;<br \/>\n  padding: 16px 40px;<br \/>\n  font-weight: 400;<br \/>\n  transition: background 0.2s;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.u250-cta-btn:hover { background: #8a1e21 !important; color: #f7f3ee !important; }<\/p>\n<p>\/* Fade-in *\/<br \/>\n@keyframes u250-fadeUp {<br \/>\n  from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(18px); }<br \/>\n  to   { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); }<br \/>\n}<br \/>\n.u250-eyebrow  { animation: u250-fadeUp 0.6s ease both; }<br \/>\n.u250-headline { animation: u250-fadeUp 0.7s 0.1s ease both; }<br \/>\n.u250-lede     { animation: u250-fadeUp 0.7s 0.22s ease both; }<\/p>\n<p>@media (max-width: 640px) {<br \/>\n  .u250-hero { padding: 52px 24px 80px; }<br \/>\n  .u250-year { right: 24px; bottom: 20px; }<br \/>\n  .u250-stats { grid-template-columns: 1fr; gap: 28px; }<br \/>\n  .u250-cta { padding: 48px 24px; }<br \/>\n  .u250-pull { margin: 36px 0; }<br \/>\n  .u250-content { padding: 52px 20px 80px; }<br \/>\n}<br \/>\n<\/style><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"u250-about\">\n<p><!-- HERO --><\/p>\n<section class=\"u250-hero\">\n<p class=\"u250-eyebrow\">About this site<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"u250-headline\">I have no credentials.<br><em>Just exhaustion. And a domain name.<\/em><\/h1>\n<p class=\"u250-lede\">I&#8217;m a teacher. I watch what war does to children \u2014 not in the abstract,<br>but in classrooms, in the children of immigrants, in kids who have family<br>on both sides of conflicts they didn&#8217;t start and can&#8217;t end.<\/p>\n<div class=\"u250-year\">2026<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><!-- STATS --><\/p>\n<div class=\"u250-stats\">\n<div><span class=\"u250-stat-number\">48<\/span><br><span class=\"u250-stat-label\">Nations. One tournament.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span class=\"u250-stat-number\">250<\/span><br><span class=\"u250-stat-label\">Years of one experiment.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span class=\"u250-stat-number\">1<\/span><br><span class=\"u250-stat-label\">Summer to remember.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- BODY --><\/p>\n<article class=\"u250-content\">\n<p>I built this site because I am tired. I think you are too.<\/p>\n<p>Tired of watching wars unfold on our phones \u2014 wars decided by a small number of people<br>at the top, paid for in blood by a large number of people at the bottom. Tired of the way<br>the news makes it feel like the whole world is defined by its worst moments.<br>Tired of feeling like there&#8217;s nothing to do.<\/p>\n<div class=\"u250-pull\">\n<p>&#8220;Wars are started by the few. The suffering belongs to everyone else.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the summer of 2026, two things happen at once that have never happened before<br>and will never happen again. The FIFA World Cup comes to the United States, Canada,<br>and Mexico \u2014 48 nations competing on the same continent \u2014 and America turns 250 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Two and a half centuries ago, a group of people tried to build a country<br>on the radical idea that <strong>ordinary people, from different places, with different beliefs,<br>could govern themselves together.<\/strong> It was an argument, not a certainty.<br>It still is. But the arguing is the point.<\/p>\n<p>Soccer \u2014 football, to most of the world \u2014 is another version of that argument.<br>It is the one language that every country on earth speaks. And for a few weeks every<br>four years, people who would otherwise never meet end up next to each other in a stadium,<br>watching the same thing, feeling the same thing.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"u250-rule\">\n<p>I&#8217;m not going to pretend that sports fix anything. They don&#8217;t.<br>Fans have rioted. Countries have used tournaments to launder their reputations.<br>A good game has never stopped a bad government.<\/p>\n<p>But I&#8217;ve also seen what happens when people who are supposed to be enemies<br>find themselves rooting for the same underdog. Something loosens.<br>Not everything. Not permanently. But something.<\/p>\n<p>That loosening is what I&#8217;m after.<\/p>\n<div class=\"u250-pull\">\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not trying to solve geopolitics. I&#8217;m trying to find the moments<br>where regular people recognize each other.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>This site is a place for those moments. Stories of fans from hostile nations who<br>ended up sharing a meal. Classrooms that &#8220;adopted&#8221; a World Cup country and made<br>a friend across the world. The Iranian-American family watching both sides of a match<br>with complicated feelings in their chest.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s also a guide \u2014 to the tournament, to the host cities, to the history of<br>this strange American experiment that is still, somehow, ongoing.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"u250-rule\">\n<p>So: no credentials. No NGO backing. No grant funding.<br>Just a teacher who is tired of feeling helpless, who bought a domain name<br>and decided that doing something small and real is better than doing nothing at all.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re tired too \u2014 and I think you are \u2014 you&#8217;re in the right place.<\/p>\n<p>Come in. Stay a while. Tell me your story.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<p><!-- CTA --><\/p>\n<section class=\"u250-cta\">\n<h2>This is your site too.<\/h2>\n<p>Have a story about connection across difference? A classroom doing something good?<br>A moment from a match you&#8217;ll never forget? Send it.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"u250-cta-btn\" href=\"mailto:usa250worldcup@gmail.com\">Share your story<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About this site I have no credentials.Just exhaustion. And a domain name. I&#8217;m a teacher. I watch what war does to children \u2014 not in the abstract,but in classrooms, in the children of immigrants, in kids who have familyon both sides of conflicts they didn&#8217;t start and can&#8217;t end. 2026 48Nations. One tournament. 250Years of &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/?page_id=22\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;About&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inspiro_hide_title":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94,"href":"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22\/revisions\/94"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa250worldcup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}