American Fans Give Up Thanksgiving to Travel to World Cup

Hector Garcia, 59, of Glendale Heights, Illinois, poses for a photo during an official U.S. Soccer fan party at the FIFA World Club ahead of a group B soccer match between the United States and Wales, in Doha, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. He plans to attend 28 games during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

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By Associated Press

November 22, 2022 at 12:36 PM UTC

Doha, Qatar (AP) -- Hector Garcia's family had a hard time understanding his decision to travel to this year's World Cup and abandon his annual gathering of 30 family and friends.

“This would have been my 40th year cooking turkey and I gave that up to be here. It was hard," he said. “They were like: You are going to miss Thanksgiving? I’m like, well, yeah, it’s the World Cup. Not my fault they held it in the fall, the winter.”