Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, has just finished a 25-minute address and most of the hits have been played. The radical Democrats must be destroyed in November\u2019s midterms; an Austin-style woke agenda should be avoided at all costs; it is essential the Lone Star State remains the most conservative in the US. He has provided ample fodder for about 5,000 delegates but, as the applause subsides, they have a more weighty subject matter to absorb.<\/p>\n
There is an elephant in the room. A real live elephant in the form of Paige, who is wearing a white cloak bearing the slogan \u201cUnity drives victory\u201d. It has long been an in-joke at the Texas Republican party convention that, one day, a pachydermal visitor might drop in; the animal has been a symbol of the GOP for 150 years. Now, at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Friday afternoon, the fantasy has been made flesh. Two intakes of breath, Paige is led up the vast conference hall\u2019s central aisle, taking a break halfway up. The exit is 100 metres away but will have to wait; unfortunately for those who have rushed to marvel at her, it turns out Paige needs to urinate.<\/p>\n
Houston is making its debut as a World Cup<\/a> host city but, in this bubble of largely hard-line activists drawn from some of the state\u2019s furthest corners, football\u2019s proximity is largely viewed as an irrelevance. \u201cYou won\u2019t find soccer fans here, we\u2019re here for business,\u201d says Jo, who has travelled from Dallas and wears a sequin-heavy stars and stripes dress. \u201cI don\u2019t mind it, but I\u2019m not remotely into it.\u201d<\/p>\n The next morning they are back at George R Brown Convention Centre to do it all again. They walk through the doors past children, no older than nine or 10, who wear T-shirts emblazoned with \u201cMake abolishing abortion our number one legislative priority.\u201d The youngsters hand out fliers and then, inside the hall, comes the daylong process of refining the party\u2019s proposed platform for the next election cycle. Texas has been in a vice-like Republican grip for more than three decades but the past year has been fraught with infighting; the congress is peppered with pleas for unity and Abbott\u2019s rare presence among these grassroots representatives is viewed as an endorsement of its shift further right.<\/p>\n Michael, from the town of Abilene, six hours\u2019 drive away, steps out of the room during a particularly heated discussion about the wording of the party\u2019s abortion policy. Someone has just suggested men recuse themselves from any vote regarding amendments. \u201cIt\u2019s getting a little contentious in there,\u201d he says, understatedly. The World Cup has barely reached his radar, although he is aware of the USA\u2019s 4-1 win against Paraguay<\/a> the previous night. It is unclear whether Houston or Dallas will make a profit from host city-status and he is concerned about any impact on public finances.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a whole lot of money in soccer and they should pay their own way,\u201d he says. \u201cWe, the taxpayer, shouldn\u2019t be shouldering the burden.\u201d Michael is wearing a \u2018MAGA 2024\u2019 cap. Does he feel comfortable with Donald Trump\u2019s appropriation of a tournament that will touch few in the Texas GOP? \u201cIt\u2019s just what he does, he\u2019s a bit of a showman,\u201d he laughs. A man wearing a Stetson and leather waistcoat, a large knife sheathed by his left hip, walks past as he speaks.<\/p>\n Audience members cheer as Greg Abbott speaks during his 25-minute address. Most of them are more concerned about the midterms than they are World Cup midfields. Photograph: Houston Chronicle\/Hearst Newspapers\/Getty Images<\/p>\n As the session breaks for lunch, Steve, who is sporting a \u201cDefend Texas, Defeat Sharia\u201d badge, admits he feels the future is precarious. \u201cI\u2019m scared about the midterms,\u201d he says. \u201cIf we lose the House and Senate, our president\u2019s not going to be effective any more.\u201d He embarks upon an analysis of the United Kingdom\u2019s immigration challenges that would not pass a fact check. Maybe he will find a new interest this summer. \u201cBecause of the World Cup we watched it last night,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was fun. It\u2019s a long time since I last watched soccer.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps a current of enthusiasm can be mustered here, after all. \u201cI think it\u2019s awesome, I really wanted to go,\u201d says Ray, from Corpus Christi. He looked into attending a game but balked at the $1,100 quoted for a ticket. \u201cHow often do you get an event that brings people together from all over the world?\u201d he asks. Does such an admirable sentiment square with the actions of a government that has, to many eyes, made this edition of the tournament less open and accessible than any other in the modern era?<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t shut down the whole world because of a few things going on,\u201d he says. \u201cBut after 9\/11 we had to pay a lot more attention to our surroundings. Soccer helps us keep a good relationship with other countries\u201d. Ray is relaxed about the prospect of Iran playing games in the US but has few regrets about Trump\u2019s decision to engage in military conflict. \u201cIt\u2019s something we needed to do to get global security under control,\u201d he claims. Like others willing to discuss the topic, though, he is concerned about the effect of a lengthy war on fuel prices.<\/p>\n It feels, at least, as if the quest to find a genuine football supporter is warming up. Finally it bears something fruit-adjacent in the form of Jacovia, one of the few Black delegates present. \u201cMe and my friends go and watch some Houston Dynamo games, it\u2019s fun,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m a fan of the sport but I don\u2019t really understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacovia rejects the idea his country has put up the drawbridge to outsiders. \u201cI think that perception is unfair,\u201d he says. \u201cI know there\u2019s going to be pockets of terrible people that aren\u2019t welcoming, but they don\u2019t account for the majority of us.\u201d<\/p>\n The USA face Mexico during the Gold Cup final last July at the NRG Stadium, renamed the Houston Stadium for the World Cup. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt\/AMA\/Getty Images<\/p>\n