Freddy

Frederick, also known by his online handle freddyLA7, or simply Freddy (stylized in all lowercase) is an anonymous soccer fan, believed to be German. He gained international publicity following his trip to the United States and Canada during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which both countries partially hosted. Described as "America's Favorite Everymensch", After failing in 2010 to secure another bid for 2022 due to a Qatari bribery campaign, the country in 2018 launched a joint-bid with Canada and Mexico for the 2026 World Cup that was successful. Despite this, a wave of Americophilic content from Europeans visiting America appeared online during the tournament and received widespread attention. Before the 2026 trip, he had already visited the United States, coming to New York City, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Old posts on his now-deleted X account show that he did exchange program in Santa Barbara and had attended a few concerts in the country; they also show that his full name is Frederick. Writing for The Atlantic, journalist Will Oremus claimed to have found a LinkedIn profile that may be him, which suggested he may have interned for a German sports-marketing firm.

An avid fan of the sport, and with Germany qualifying for the World Cup, he began planning his visit to North America as far back as March and planned to document it on X. Prior to the trip, he was largely unknown, and spent most of his time on X supporting Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo and his Saudi club, Al Nassr, while also occasionally making posts about German politics. He left Germany on June 4. Following a 24-hour layover in Dublin, where he visited, among other places, Temple Bar and Trinity College, he flew to the United States on June 5, through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. He then flew to Atlanta.

North American trip

American South Jordan–Hare Stadium, where Freddy visited to attend a friendly between Argentina and Iceland on June 11, and was taken aback by SEC culture. Arriving seven days before the opening ceremony, he began a tour of the American South, working his way from Atlanta to Houston. In Georgia, he came across filming locations for Stranger Things, and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta. he approved of the city's nature saying that "it feels like you're in a forest the whole time", but expressed disapproval of the city's metro, the MARTA rail, describing it as a "GTA lobby".

Throughout his visit in the South, he visited multiple food and retail chains. He visited a Taco Bell on June 7, and received extensive attention for a June 10 Buc-ee's post, which he captioned "DUDE LMAO THIS IS A GAS STATION". He also visited Walmart and Wendy's, where he was overwhelmed by the selection of items. After a brief detour into Florida, during which he stopped at a Freddy's and complimented the houses in Gainesville, he entered Alabama. While driving in Alabama, At a June 9 Argentina–Iceland friendly in Auburn, Alabama, a local hotel waitress opted to drive him and his companions to the game, instead of having them wait in the rain for an Uber. At a Bass Pro Shops, he saw a shooting range and noticed that they were selling rifles. At the city, he received a tour of the New Orleans Saints' and New Orleans Pelicans' facilities, meeting the Saints quarterback Tyler Shough; Afterwards, he went into Louisiana's bayous to search for alligators.

Freddy arrived in Texas on June 13, playing Ella Langley's Choosin' Texas as he and his friends entered. and met the city's mayor, John Whitmire, at an MLB game between the Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers. He visited Galveston, as well as NASA's Johnson Space Center near the city, where he met with astronauts such as Anne McClain, entered the Orion capsule that had recently flown around the Moon as part of Artemis II and sat on its commander's seat, connected to the International Space Station via FaceTime and met other astronauts such as Jessica Meir. what he described as being his "dream come true". He filmed her singing Choosin' Texas, before taking a photo with Langley and his traveling companions, docked out with cowboy boots, blue jeans and "Ella's Fellas" shirts; Langley responded positively to the interaction on social media. On June 19, Nick Adams, the Special Presidential Envoy for American, Tourism, Exceptionalism and Values, confirmed to Fox News that he had been invited to the White House, describing him as "one of hundreds of thousands of visitors coming to the USA and experiencing the incredible hospitality and generosity of the American people". Adams stated that he got the idea to reach out to him after Freddy expressed his love for Langley's music, who Adams was also a fan of. Adams speaks German fluently, and has family that does as well. Freddy and his group initially declined a visit, stating although they would have liked to come, they did not want to get involved in politics. Eventually, American Airlines provided him a flight to Buffalo, New York after intervention from J. J. Watt. Germany defeated the Ivorians 2–1. After the game in Toronto, he embarked upon a road trip to Boston, where Germany was set to play against Paraguay on June 29. He posted the Apple Maps route of his journey, which would have taken him throughout Southern Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and then Massachusetts, opting to take a longer route due to the week long gap between the two games. On June 24, Freddy was in Ohio, being in Elmore and Berlin, the latter of which, founded by a Prussian native of Berlin in 1816, was described as one of his favorite places on the journey. While in Berlin, he came across a group of Amish people in their traditional horse-drawn buggies. On July 2, Adams once again stated that Freddy would be coming to Washington, D.C., despite his earlier rejection; reports indicate that it may come on July 16, following the conclusion of the World Cup. He then traveled from Boston back to Dallas via road. One of these posts, where he remarked on the ease of gun ownership in the US while in Tennessee engendered controversy as part of the debate on guns in the country. On July 12, he went to a Wendy's in Augusta, Georgia, before going to McCormick County, South Carolina, and then finally visiting the state's Clemson University to observe the school's baseball and football fields. He was invited by the locals to watch Spain defeat France as part of the World Cup semifinals, before going target shooting. On July 17, he attended a Major League Soccer game at Nashville's Geodis Park between Nashville and Atlanta; although they originally had regular seats, one of the owners of Nashville SC invited him to his personal suite to watch the game. On July 18, he left for Kentucky. Georgia representative Clay Fuller gave Freddy his tour of the Capitol; Fuller, who was from Helen, began tracking Freddy on social media after he noticed his post from there. His monuments tour was organized by the Department of the Interior. Afterwards, Freddy flew home on July 23.

Aftermath On July 29, Freddy announced that he was planning on another US trip in the autumn of 2026. The trip is supposed to focus on College football, being inspired by some of his visits during his World Cup trip. Other hinted at attractions include an Oktoberfest in Helen, Georgia, the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, Kentucky, and the Texas State Fair in Dallas. Other sports and "unique American events" will also be included. ESPN host Pat McAfee held him up as a symbol of American success throughout the World Cup, while Fox Sports gave him a shoutout while broadcasting. Derek Stevens, the owner of several hotels in Las Vegas, invited Freddy to stay at the Circa Resort & Casino. Although he had not received a response from Stevens, he was taken aback by the popularity of his tweet, which became his most engaged with ever. Other brands such as Ford Motors and Hilton Hotels, as well as several MLS teams also reached out to him. His posts drew additional positive reactions from the State Department, Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, the respective senior and junior Senators from Alabama, Hunter Biden and Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation. The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, invited Freddy to see Florida's beaches while he briefly visited the state, Mike Lee, the senior Senator from Utah, called for making Freddy a citizen. while several outlets compared Freddy to Alexis de Tocqueville, the 19th century French intellectual who visited and wrote about America in the 1830s. and declared Fairhope, Alabama as his favorite city, with Taco Bell his favorite food joint. In this, his anonymity became a liability, Freddy faced allegations of being a sort of social experiment, as well as being a part of a marketing campaign or plant for certain people, brands, or even the United States itself. In particular, numerous people began accusing him of being a CIA operative. Many right-wingers in the US were quick to lambast those who had "bullied" him off the platform, with Fox News writing several such articles in the aftermath. Adams subsequentially declared it "a victory for free speech and a triumph of the spirit that makes America great". The development was interpreted as a recent example of individuals who amass large followings swiftly, only to then face large-scale backlash;