The Left Warned World Cup Tourists About the South. Then One German Fell in Love With It.

Chris Queen | 10:14 AM on June 11, 2026
AP Photo/Chuck Burton

American leftists love to malign the South. We Southerners and our culture are the butt of jokes time and time again. Outsiders mock our accents and our traditions, sometimes in really ugly ways. Southerners get the broad-brush treatment regularly, with outsiders hurling generalizations our way constantly.

Advertisement

As I wrote in my book Neon Crosses:

Let’s be honest: the South is the most misunderstood region of the country. Yankees and other outsiders come south of the Mason-Dixon Line with preconceived notions. Years of troubled history and the baggage that goes along with that history have helped contribute to this phenomenon. For many years, slavery dominated the region as both an economic driver, and for years after that, ugly bigotry ruled the South. While it’s true that one can still find remnants of these attitudes here and there, the vast majority of Southerners are warm and friendly and do not harbor this type of hatred.

I’d love to dispel a few of the myths about the South and its people that simply aren’t true. For starters, we’re not all backward hicks who engage in ridiculous redneck pastimes and resist technological progress. For some reason, people who have never been down here think of us as uncultured. When my aunt first moved with my uncle to Washington State in the early ’80s, she actually had a neighbor react with surprise at the fact that we have museums in Georgia!

So as tourists descend on the South for the FIFA World Cup, plenty of people from inside and outside the U.S. are experiencing the region for the first time. Of course, it’s on us to put our best foot forward for everybody, and for most Southerners, that just means being normal.

Related: The Left Issues a ‘Travel Advisory’ for Florida and Other Fairy Tales 

Advertisement

Leftists have tried to warn World Cup attendees about the “dangers” they supposedly face when visiting the South, but of course, those dire predictions are unfounded. One German tourist’s reactions to the glories of the South are spectacular.

Side note: I don’t care about the World Cup and have no desire to write about it, watch it, or even hear about it other than as the hook for this story. I’ve mentioned FIFA in passing in other articles in the past, but none of this interests me at all.

The X user, whose handle is @FreddyLA7, has been documenting his travels through the South on his way to a friendly match at Auburn University. He has gotten to experience all sides of the South, from the city to the country.

Bless his heart. We could’ve told him to avoid MARTA. 

The greenness of the urban South came as a surprise.

Freddy also got to experience some true Southern institutions and enjoy some of the best food anyone could ask for outside of fine dining.

Advertisement

Freddy got to see the Great Smoky Mountains in all their glory. He also sorta FAFO-ed when it comes to tubing.

He experienced an American college campus and an SEC football tradition. By the way, I invited him to come to Athens, Ga., to see the campus at the University of Georgia.

He also discovered the joys of country music.

Advertisement

He experienced the mountains, and now he’s gotten to see the Gulf of America.

One of my favorite parts of his journey (so far) is how much he seems to have fallen in love with small-town Southern life.

Freddy has become a big fan of the South, and I’m here for it. I love seeing people view how wonderful this part of our great country is with their own eyes.

The left loves to sneer at the South, but real life has a funny way of wrecking their favorite narratives. That’s what PJ Media is here for: cutting through the stereotypes, the media spin, and the coastal condescension with stories that tell the truth.

Join PJ Media VIP today. Use the promo code FIGHT for 60% off and help us keep telling the stories the left would rather mock, bury, or misunderstand from a safe distance.

Chris Queen

Chris Queen is the Managing Editor at PJ Media. He’s a UGA alum (#DGD), a Georgia Bulldogs loyalist by birthright and conviction, an amateur Disney historian, and a Certified Bourbon Steward who promises not to lecture you about mash bills.

Subscribe to his free Substack, buy his book Neon Crosses, and follow him on X. For media inquiries, contact [email protected].

Read more by Chris Queen

Category:

COLUMNS

Tags:

ALABAMA GEORGIA SOUTH CAROLINA USA WORLD CUP

Recommended

The Morning Briefing: Jasmine Crockett's Gaping Maw Is Still Belching up Filth Stephen Kruiser
Violent Immigrant Fraudster Stole $100 Million to Fund Jets, Cars, and Orgies Catherine Salgado
Jesse Watters Make a Fool Out of Jessica Tarlov Over the SPLC Case Matt Margolis
Why Is Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 Drawing Such Large Crowds? Eric Florack
Illinois Democrats Just Passed a Tax on Social Media Without Understanding Who or What They're Taxing Rick Moran
THURSDAY ESSAY: Solo-Maxxing Your Way Out of Dating, Marriage, and Kids Stephen Green

Trending on PJ Media Videos

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Advertisement

Trending

Editor's Choice

THURSDAY ESSAY: Solo-Maxxing Your Way Out of Dating, Marriage, and Kids
Faith All Over the Place, Episode 34: Exploring Orthodoxy With Robert Spencer
Whisky Wednesday: These Brash Young Scotches Bring Big Peat
Advertisement