But this isn't the first time the United States has hosted a World Cup.Fans old enough to remember both the men's World Cup in 1994 and the women's tournament in '99 will recall the moments that an entire nation truly embraced the game of soccer for the first time.One player who can speak from firsthand experience about what those moments meant is former U.S.Women's National Team star Mia Hamm, who spoke to Fox News Digital's Larry Fink on the eve of this year's World Cup.US SOCCER LEGEND COBI JONES SHARES MESSAGE HE'D DELIVER TO USMNT AS 2026 WORLD CUP GETS UNDERWAYUSA's Mia Hamm is pictured during a soccer event.
(Jon Buckle/EMPICS)Hamm represented the Stars and Stripes during the 1999 tournament, one in which the United States captured its first world title over China."Representing the U.S., wearing the colors and the badge, meant everything for us," Hamm explained."[It's] something you dream about as a kid and then to have the opportunity to do it for as long as I did, I never took it for granted."In today's day and age where athletes often view wearing the American colors as divisive, it's refreshing to hear someone like Hamm speak from a place of pride about representing her home country.FIFA TO IMPLEMENT TAILGATING BAN AT SEVERAL MAJOR US WORLD CUP VENUES: REPORTSU.S.
women's soccer players wait for a corner kick during the Women's World Cup Group E match against Portugal at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, on Aug.1, 2023.
(Andrew Cornaga/AP Photo)Winning that World Cup in '99 and doing it on her home soil is a feat that isn't lost on Hamm, even after all this time."Being able to do it, play a World Cup in your home country is so special," she said.Hamm recalled one of the more surreal moments coming from the lead-up to the first game, citing the traffic heading into the game as well as the tailgating taking place in the parking lot of the stadium several hours before kick."To see people in our jerseys, tailgating, playing pickup in the parking lot two ...