L&T Publisher Earl Watt

Estimates have the number of tourists coming to America to watch the World Cup at about 1 million.

That’s a lot of guests with most experiencing American culture for the first time.

One of the people sharing their experience with the world is a guy going by the name “Freddy” on social media. He has shared his experiences with first-time stops at the Waffle House, Buc-ee’s, Bass Pro Shop and others.

He also shared a ride from his hotel to the stadium from the receptionist so he didn’t have to pay for an Uber.

Another group experienced American barbecue for the first time, and the video of their reaction was hilarious on how impressed they were.

But no reaction has been as surprising as the love affair with Ranch dressing. Apparently this is not as popular across the planet, and the world is falling in love with our common condiment. From salads to buffalo wings, Ranch is the perfect compliment, and our guests have discovered they like the American flavor.

Several who have tried to board planes have discovered that Ranch cannot be taken in a carry-on.

Because they’ve tried. And what a great problem. They are now putting Ranch in their checked bags and taking it across the globe.

With all of these international guests spread all across America, there has been a common reaction from those experiencing the United States for the first time — it’s a lot different than what they were told.

Our own media focuses on division of the people. They create the false narrative that America is xenophobic and hostile to outsiders.

What is being shared on social media by these people is the narrative does not match the reality. People are being treated well by perfect strangers in the United States. They are being greeted even by those who don’t know they are here to watch soccer.

They have discovered that Americans love air conditioning.

Everywhere.

Free salsa and chips? Not back home, but only in America.

Free refills.

Convenience stores with indoor shopping the size of malls back home.

America’s beauty from coast to coast is being experienced by the planet for the first time.

This capitalist state focused on greed and climbing the corporate ladder is in fact a place where people are happy, the quality of life is high, and like the tournament itself, the opportunity to succeed is completely up to each person.

Whether the visitor is in a blue state or a red state, the experience has been the same — Americans are friendly.

We can take pride in the fact that Americans are not at each other’s throats on the verge of social collapse but have actually found a way to unite in welcoming our guests.

While some believe we should have no borders and others believe we should strictly enforce border security, none of that is seen by those who have come to enjoy the World Cup.

America truly is the land of milk and honey.

We are spoiled by what we have and complain about what we don’t, but with fresh eyes seeing us from the outside coming in, the lesson is clear that we have it pretty good.

A recent poll measured how proud we are of America, and when Barack Obama was president, those who said they were proud or extremely proud was 90 percent from Republicans and 90 percent from Democrats.

Now that Donald Trump is president, Republicans are still at 90 percent but Democrats are only 28 percent proud or extremely proud to be American.

But that isn’t being demonstrated to our visitors. They are seeing a country in a positive way.

And why shouldn’t they? America has made sacrifice after sacrifice to make sure the next generation has a better life than the one before.

The best promotion for the United States of America may not be baseball. It may not be football. It definitely isn’t what comes from Hollywood.

Hosting the World Cup where soccer teams and their fans from around the world have converged here may just be the best marketing tool we have ever done.

Our guests are seeing it for themselves, and they like it.