In Doha, Qatar, the United States is facing Iran with a spot in the knockout stage of the World Cup on the line. It’s win or go home in the biggest sporting event on Earth, and Christian Pulisic has just scored to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead. 

In Los Angeles, a crowd roars. In New York, fans jump and scream in celebration. In Houston, chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” rise up across the city. Across America drinks are spilled and strangers are hugged. It’s pandemonium.

And in a government classroom in College Station, nobody is listening to a lecture on the Supreme Court.  

Phones are propped up against water bottles, angled so neighbors can see the screens. Attention switches to whichever feed is lagging the least. Eyes jump back and forth from an explanation of Marbury v. Madison to a replay of the assist by Sergiño Dest.

“My whole class [was] watching on our phones instead of doing whatever we should have been doing,” senior Bella Nolan said. 

In their defense, the students have–reluctantly–been given permission to watch the match by a teacher who has learned to pick their battles.

Not that the class could have been stopped. World Cup fever had swept through the halls of CSISD’s high schools, and they weren’t about to let a little thing like schoolwork stop them from enjoying the beautiful game. 

In the United States, the tournament was shown on Fox and Telemundo, and could be streamed through Fox’s subscription streaming service (in English) or on Peacock (in Spanish). 

But on a teenager’s budget, desperate times called for desperate measures. 

“My friends would keep making new Fox accounts for the free trials,” College Station High School senior Lujein Abdelwahed said. “One of them got Peacock specifically for the World Cup.”

The 2022 World Cup was held in November and December–a departure from the normal June-through-July slate–due to the intense heat Qatar experiences in the summer months. That meant games would largely be held during school hours. 

The inconvenient timing of the tournament turned out to not be a major issue. In fact, many students enjoyed the opportunity to watch the tournament with fellow fans. 

“I watched the World Cup wherever I could,” senior Bryce Marianno said. “Either in class with friends or with family, I was never alone.”

The community atmosphere did create some interesting viewing arrangements, as senior Nathan Parulian discovered when the South Korea-Portugal match happened to fall during his orchestra class. 

“The end was hilarious,” Parulian said. “Everyone was checking their phones [during the match] and when Hwang [Hee-chan] scored we were still playing. Everyone either stopped playing completely or told everyone in their section.”

It wasn’t just soccer junkies who enjoyed the experience. This World Cup drew plenty of new fans thanks to the unusual circumstances, as senior Hailey Greer saw first hand after convincing her teacher to show the U.S.-Iran game on the classroom SMART Board. 

“I was jumping out of my seat,” Greer said. “My other classmates started to get into the game as well, which was cool to see. Having the World Cup on at school really spread the love of soccer.”

This edition of the World Cup was notable for its fair share of drama. Five games were sent to penalty shootouts, an all-time record. Those matches in particular–such as the shootout between Argentina and the Netherlands in the quarter-finals–had students’ emotions running high.

“The bell had rung, but many of us stayed [in class] to watch the end of extra time and penalties,” sophomore Karina Ji said. “Almost everyone in there was rooting for Argentina, but I was going for the Netherlands. I had correctly predicted the outcome and score of the Croatia v. Brazil game earlier that day, so I was really hoping I would be right about the Netherlands.”

Ji was, in fact, not right. In a shootout that came down to the final attempt, Lautaro Martinez sent the eventual champions, Argentina, on to the semi-finals. 

Argentina was celebrating, but Ji was not.

“I did what any normal fan would do,” Ji said. “[I] wept on the ground. It was soul-crushing. I was forever broken.”

This World Cup brought fans both old and new closer to the game.

“It truly sparked my love for soccer,” Abdelwahed said. “I’ve always watched soccer, but I never felt emotionally invested and committed until this World Cup.”

And the unique circumstances of the tournament allowed students to bond over the beautiful game.

“It allowed me to talk to people I’d never talked to before,” Parulian said. “We put aside our differences and watched soccer.”