COBB COUNTY, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Visiting soccer fans from around the world are getting a taste of American culture while in metro Atlanta for World Cup matches, and some say the experience has been memorable — and sometimes, literally, hard on the stomach.
The Queen’s Pantry owner, Samantha Garmon, said she has been dealing with what she called fallout from a European influx during the World Cup, including pranks tied to long-running rivalries.
“Some Scottish person has come and put a cone on my king,” Garmon said.
The rivalry between England and Scotland runs deep, even in the U.S.
“Their badge of honor is going and coning every statue you come across,” she explained.
Social media has been abuzz with World Cup visitors marveling at all things American.
“We have to go to Buc-ee’s just for the jerky, which is weird,” Garmon said, admitting that she recently took some visiting family to the iconic gas stop chain for the first time.
Englishman Weller Docker said that the portion sizes and the penchant for frying pretty much anything have stood out.
“The calorie portions are insane,” he said. “It gives me a bit of a dodgy stomach sometimes.’
Docker said he is in Atlanta for a Round of 32 match and has a list of U.S. restaurant stops he wants to try.
“I haven’t tried Raisin’ Cane’s yet,” he said. “And I keep seeing the Red Lobster food. I want to try that.”
Docker also said he’s tried ranch dressing but doesn’t know what it is, kind of like most Americans.
“I mean, what exactly is ranch? I have had it, but I don’t actually know what it is,” he said.
America’s long-standing setup of having free refills on drinks stood out as a positive as well.
“Free refills! We don’t get free refills,” Garmon said.
Despite the ups and downs, the World Cup experience is heavily curated. Garmon said fans coming into her shop are primarily in town for the games, and she believes that affects their overall impression of the U.S.
“I think the impression would be very different if they were coming here on vacation,” she said.
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