Continental Postal Services of Hebland

Freddy’s first college football game: Why the World Cup’s viral star is back for fall Saturdays

World Cup
Freddy’s first college football game: Why the World Cup’s viral star is back for fall Saturdays

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Freddy the German sports traveler is as inconspicuous as he is mysterious, even while standing within view of a raucous crowd of 70,000.

Alongside his companions John and Lasse, Freddy took in the Iowa-Iowa State college football game on Saturday night and fit right in. They donned black-and-gold Iowa T-shirts, participated in Kinnick Stadium’s traditions and stayed well past the game’s conclusion. Nothing in their attire or mannerisms suggested they were any more famous than any of the other fans in attendance.

For Freddy, who became a subject of American fascination during the FIFA Men’s World Cup as the concealed face of the international fans touring the country, that’s by design. To keep their identities somewhat of a secret, Freddy and his traveling companions agreed to speak to a reporter on Saturday night but politely declined to reveal their last names or take a picture that includes their faces. Freddy regularly posts photos on social media with emojis covering his face and those of his sidekicks to keep his engagement high but his personal profile low. They prefer to blend in with the people around them, which seems contradictory for social media stars.

“It’s difficult,” Freddy told The Athletic, in an interview arranged by Iowa’s social media team. “Sometimes I like it. Sometimes I don’t like it because so many people make up conspiracy theories about us. So then I think, ‘Oh, maybe it was stupid to just be anonymous.’ But then otherwise, now we’re here and we can just be ourselves and just watch the game.”

The Big Ten is the biggest loser from Week 2

Manny Navarro

Speculation has swirled about Freddy since his X account @FreddyLA7 took off, with some questioning whether he’s even a real person. He doesn’t speak publicly outside of social media posts. Iowa’s media relations staff reached out to him when he expressed interest on X in attending the Cy-Hawk game, not the other way around. But make no mistake: Freddy is genuine. He’s a student in his mid-20s from Hamburg, Germany. He stands not quite 6 feet tall, with a wiry frame and dark hair. His friends are taller and thicker and all speak English fluently, with traditional Hamburg slow pacing and a slight accent.

Although he broadcasts no sponsorships on his social media feeds, Freddy said he earned enough money from his World Cup travels to pay for his current excursion touring college football environments. He described this journey as a reinvestment with “no profit, but no loss.” The trio plans to take in the Florida-Auburn game this Saturday and maybe hit Texas A&M at LSU the following week.

Why college football? It represents the part of America that Freddy, John and Lasse discovered during their World Cup tour. They drove through college towns, saw the stadiums and heard that they needed to experience those locations during the fall. Their friendly interactions in the South and the Midwest convinced them to return for football season.

“The best part was just meeting all the American people,” Freddy said. “When we were on the plane for the World Cup, I said to my friends like, hopefully we get to meet some local people and not only other tourists. In the end, we met so many nice people that didn’t know who we were or like what we were doing on the internet. They were just all so friendly. We had so many cool experiences. So that was the best part of it.”

Freddy, John and Lasse researched where to visit first and selected three Week 2 games as options: Oklahoma at Michigan, Rice at Notre Dame and Iowa State at Iowa. The social media response quickly pointed them toward the Cy-Hawk game.

“Many people said a rivalry game is always better,” Freddy said. “Maybe Michigan-Oklahoma is like quality-wise the best game. But like for the whole experience, then this one is the best.”

John and Freddy flew to Chicago on Thursday and met Lasse on Friday. They drove through the cornfields of western Illinois and eastern Iowa, stopping at The World’s Largest Truck Stop on I-80 west of the Mississippi River. They stayed in Muscatine, Iowa — located about 40 miles east of Iowa City — to avoid college-town hotel prices of roughly $500 a night. On Saturday, they embraced the full game day experience, from all-day tailgating to elevated trash talk.

“When we came into the town with like the banners at the houses, we saw it’s hate week, so we’re like, ‘OK, what’s going on here?’” Freddy said. “It’s something I think we need to process a few days, and then we can understand fully what’s going on.”

John understood a little about American football from studying abroad at the University of New Mexico. But there was little in common between what he experienced in Albuquerque and what he witnessed in Iowa City.

“It’s such a big stadium and it’s full, unlike New Mexico,” John said.

All three spent pregame on the sidelines via passes provided by Iowa and were wowed by the Hawkeyes’ pregame walkout featuring AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” Along with the tailgating scene, Freddy most enjoyed participating in the Iowa Wave to the UI Children’s Hospital across the street. The last-second finish, with the Hawkeyes winning 16-13 on a field goal, added to his memories.

“I didn’t understand too much of the game, but it was very close in the end, so I think it was a good game,” Freddy said. “I think I need to learn the rules a little bit more.

“I just know four attempts to get 10 yards, and then every time there’s something, someone stops the game, and then there’s a review. I knew it was exciting because it was 13-13, and (John) told me, ‘OK, now this one is important.’”

Saturday night’s conversation with Freddy, John and Lasse moved to other sports topics. They suggested a relegation system like the ones used in European soccer leagues would make pro sports better in America. Their faces lit up when they found out the reason several fans in attendance wore Iowa No. 22 shirts that read “Clark” was for women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark.

During a discussion of rivalries, they debated whether Germany’s biggest foe was France or England. To John and Lasse, it’s France, while England’s 1966 World Cup final victory over West Germany “still stings” his countrymen, according to Freddy. They were interested in soccer’s growth in the United States and hoped MLS continues to gain followers.

In much the same way that Americans have bragged on their communities to them, they did the same when describing Hamburg. Lasse said the architecture, bridges and port setting along the Elbe River makes Hamburg Germany’s hidden gem.

At the end of a roughly 30-minute conversation, the German trio politely shook hands with the reporter and left Kinnick Stadium for a short walk to Iowa’s football facility, where they toured the locker room. Their plans are open this week, other than driving from Iowa to Alabama, where Freddy plans to blend in with locals again.

“When we went through the U.S. for the World Cup,” Freddy said, “every time we stopped, the people we met, they said, ‘We need to come back when we have a game here because now it’s empty. It’s summer; no one’s here. You have to experience it.’ So, we said, maybe we should do it.”

“I think was a good choice to come back.”


Crédito: Link de origem

You might also like More from author
Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.