I Walked More Than Six Hours to the World Cup Stadium ...Middle East

The 90-degree sun was making a mockery of my sunblock, as evidenced by the bright red hue of my hand (and face and neck and legs). Truck exhaust made the mid-afternoon air even more suffocating, doing my hydration woes no favors. I was about halfway into a 13-mile journey, almost exclusively by foot, from Penn Station in New York City to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, to see if walking to the World Cup was a cost-effective—and sane—transportation alternative for the area’s soccer fans on match day. After my editor bet that I’d spend the $98 cost of a game-day train ticket on food and drink, I packed plenty of water and other provisions to save money on the route. 

But at this point, my drinks were hot, my legs were getting heavy, and I had no choice but to slink into a North Jersey Dunkin’ to purchase two very large and oh-so-cold bottles of water and Gatorade. 

Chugging them left me refreshed, and still $80 ahead of the game! 

The near-$100 train fare from Penn Station to the suburban stadium hosting eight World Cup games, including the July 19 final, has neatly encapsulated the fundamental concern with the tournament, which will be hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and officially kicks off on June 11 in Mexico City: that it’s a ridiculously expensive affair. While the sticker shock of what is typically a $13 trip enraged the masses—the price was initially announced at $150 in April, before it got knocked down to 98 bucks in the face of public backlash—some observers, particularly those from Europe, scoffed at all the outrage. “I know walking is an unfamiliar concept for most Americans, but it is a thing in the rest of the world,” wrote one user on X, igniting a viral debate.

Were it not for a six-plus-hour trip, by ferry and foot, from midtown Manhattan to what is now known as New York New Jersey Stadium during the World Cup (FIFA does not allow stadium sponsors during the event), it would be a very fair point. Plus, some commentary has suggested that it’s technically impossible to walk from New York City to the World Cup stadium, given all the highways that surround the facility. But if walking was really unworkable, why was Apple Maps offering me a route? It wouldn't be the first time tech misled humans, but perhaps it knew what it was talking about. And while FIFA has clearly stated that walking to New York New Jersey Stadium is not allowed on game days, citing safety concerns, could you still get pretty close? Should walking to the World Cup, and potentially saving $98 and gaining the exercise benefits, really be prohibited? Is the trek as perilous as some have led us to believe? 

With these questions in mind, I set out little before noon from the New Jersey Transit waiting room at Penn Station in early June. (My oldest son, home from college, accompanied me.) The area was nearly empty, but still sweltering. If any air-conditioning was on, it wasn’t doing much. Picturing a few thousand more enthusiastic soccer nuts in this space, crowded together in the heat, was enough to quicken my stride to the Hudson. 

There, at 39th Street, a $10.75 ferry takes you across the river to Weehawken, N.J. The views above the Hudson—of the water, the New York City skyline, the George Washington Bridge—surely beat those in the train tunnel below it. 

Upon arrival in New Jersey, directions took us north along the river. New York New Jersey Stadium is actually just six miles, in a straight shot northwest, from Penn Station. But the swampy landscape around the stadium, the Meadowlands, acts as a pedestrian barrier. So we essentially had to circumnavigate the marsh, not to mention the roadways and railways and refineries and electric power plants, to reach our destination. Still, while that infrastructure, never easy on the eyes, is familiar to anyone who has flown into Newark airport, or driven on the New Jersey Turnpike, or watched the opening credits of The Sopranos, it’s not the North Jersey we met at the start of this soccer pilgrimage. Rather, for about two and half miles, we were walking through river towns, which are green and scenic.

As we turned inland, we saw more industry: body shops, gas stations, a place called the Jingle II Cocktail Lounge hawking steaks and burgers (it’s been closed for decades). But even in these less foot-friendly areas, the route is mostly sidewalked. In a few spots where there’s not a sidewalk, there’s a white line indicating where the road begins: we stayed as far to the right of it as we could and made sure there were no signs prohibiting pedestrian activity. While this was definitely the part of the voyage that required the most vigilance, it was relatively brief. On Apple Maps, a few water crossings—over Overpeck Creek and the Hackensack River—looked dicey. But both had walking paths.

Nearing four miles to go, we finally headed due south toward the stadium. At that point, however, the peanut butter sandwiches packed in my bag would no longer do; luckily, a restaurant in Little Ferry, N.J., advertised empanadas. With the end somewhat in sight, a treat was in order. Two beef empanadas and another pair of cold drinks: my total bill for the trip now clocked in at $28.75. 

Fueled for the stretch run, I reached the base of New York New Jersey Stadium at around 6:30 p.m. FIFA won’t let walkers get that close on game day, so if you do walk, you’ll have to get as close as possible, then perhaps Uber to the designated drop-off point at the Meadowlands race track, about a 25-minute walk to the stadium entrances.

My phone informed me I’d set a record for burning calories in a single day and exceeded 28,000 steps. I felt sore but accomplished. Sure, if I was attending a World Cup match that night, I’d be beat. But I’d have earned those beers.  

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