One Way to Become a World Cup Booster? Travel.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/travel/world-cup-soccer-fans-travel.html

Version 0 of 1.

Aaron Sagers, a 40-year-old entertainment journalist who lives in Brooklyn, has vacationed in Iceland twice in the past four years.

On both trips he explored Reykjavik, the country’s capital. He listened to live music, sampled creative cocktails, and visited art and maritime museums. In the countryside he trekked through ice caves, walked on glaciers, and rode A.T.V.s across volcanoes. He even hired a guide to give him insight into Icelandic folklore.

On both trips he fell in love with the country. “Reykjavik is like Nordic Brooklyn and the rest of the country is like another planet,” he said. So when the 2018 FIFA World Cup began, he knew which country he would support.

“I am typically a casual viewer of the World Cup, but this was the first time I was rooting for a team and getting behind it,” he said. “It was fun to be part of something.”

In March, long before the tournament began, he saw Iceland’s soccer team play a game at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. “I was sitting next to this Icelandic guy, giant beard, everything you want in your big awesome Viking Icelandic fan,” he said. Once the World Cup started he watched games with other fans at viewing parties hosted by Reyka Vodka, an Icelandic brand.

He wore a team shirt and waved the country’s flag. He is working on mastering the famous Viking Clap, a slow chant accompanied by grunts. “I had to watch some YouTube videos to get it right,” he said. “It is intimidating as anything and really cool.”

Since the tournament began on June 14, the World Cup has captured the attention of the world. People have followed every play in sports bars, in restaurants, in their homes. Since the United States team didn’t quality, Americans don’t have a natural team to support, so many people are choosing to cheer on countries they visited or are about to visit on vacation. If you’re going to adopt a country, they figure, why not one you experienced firsthand?

For many Americans, that means supporting the people who made their trips so fun and meaningful.

Debra Locker Griffin, a 47-year-old from Louisville, Ky., and her husband, Ron Griffin, traveled to Costa Rica in 2016 for their 20th anniversary. They went zip-lining through the Arenal Volcano region and toured Manuel Antonio Park, an area with rain forests and white sand beaches, with a guide. They love wildlife and saw animals ranging from sloths and monkeys to crocodiles. Now they are rooting for the Costa Rican team.

A big reason has to do with the people they met. “The country is filled with wonderfully warm people who are proud to be from Costa Rica. You could tell they really love their soccer team by the banners hung in restaurants, stores and outside buildings,” she said. “It made us want to cheer them on.”

Ali Rosen, a 32-year old cookbook author and TV host from New York, has rooted for Italy in the World Cup since she and her mother took a trip to Venice in 1998. They were caught in a rainstorm and stopped into a bar where these old men were watching the World Cup quarterfinal. “When they lost to France we comforted them as though someone dear to them died,” she remembered. (She’s rooting for England this year because she studied abroad in Britain for four years — just as well, since Italy didn’t qualify for this year’s tournament.)

And the inverse can be true as well: Others have been inspired by World Cup matches to travel.

Last weekend, at Legends, a sports bar in Manhattan nicknamed “the soccer factory,” a crowd watched Argentina face-off against France; fans sang and chanted though all 90 minutes of the game. When a goal was scored, many men (mostly Argentines) took off their shirts and poured beer on their neighbors.

John Imbimbo, a 23-year-old from Berlin, Conn., was so inspired by the spirit of the Argentine fans, he decided to book a trip there this year. “Even though I have family there, I’ve never been to Argentina, and this makes me want to go way more,” he said. “They are obviously very exciting people, and they know how to have a good time. They have a flair.”

Then there are those who are cheering on teams because of upcoming vacation plans.

Daryush Assar, a 36-year-old from Brooklyn, is traveling to Spain in July for the last week of the tournament. He is planning on exploring bars and restaurants in Barcelona and sail around Mallorca and Ibiza.

Throughout the World Cup he has watched every game Spain has played in bars or in front of computer screens at work. “It’s simple,” he said. “I want to be in the country when the team is close to winning the World Cup. That will be one hell of an experience.”

Unfortunately for Mr. Assar, Spain is out of the tournament. But his fandom will undoubtedly continue.