2026 FIFA World Cup

World Cup Champion Spain — **^{Members of Spain’s World Cup-winning team celebrate with the trophy on Sunday. (Photo by Getty Images)}**

After 104 matches and more Timothee Chalamet, David Beckham, and Will Ferrell commercials than the world ever needed, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has come to a close.

Spain’s stifling defense and possession game proved too much for the sport’s GOAT – Lionel Messi – and his Argentinian teammates to overcome in Sunday’s 1-0 championship.

I knew of only one person to check in with after the finale to see how it went from their perspective: Stephen Miller.

Regular listeners of Conversations might remember Stephen because he first began talking about the 2026 World Cup on this show back in April 2025. He was so stoked for the event being in North America that he even planned his retirement from a career in K-12 education for June 2025 to ensure there would be no conflict for his attention during the past five weeks.

So, for your benefit and mine, I check in with Stephen again, and he surprises us with a pair of mini-Conversations of his own with longtime friends and fellow soccer fans who were at his Bellevue, WA, home yesterday for his final World Cup Watch Party. With that, I encourage you to listen to Stephen’s discussions with Dean Falvey and Dani Neal following my time with Stephen.

^{This special World Cup episode attempts to put a bow on the soccer tournament that took up residence in North America for the past five weeks. I figured only Stephen Miller, who claims to have watched all or part of 103 of the 104 matches, could do the job.}

**^{The University of Tennessee’s Dr. John Sorochan, left, and Michigan State University’s}**
**^{Dr. Trey Rogers, led a team from the two universities in developing the turf being used in all 16}**
**^{2026 FIFA World Cup stadiums. (Photo courtesy of MSU)}**

Recently, I happened to read an article about a Michigan State University turf management professor who led a team of colleagues and graduate students in partnership with a similar team from the University of Tennessee.

Their mission: Identify the appropriate grass types, design a growth plan, and oversee the growth of the turf that comprises the 16 pitches (e.g. fields) being used for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

That MSU professor? Dr. Trey Rogers.

What’s even cooler, is that he was part of a similar team leading up to the last time the World Cup was contested in North America (USA 1994) to develop and execute a plan to grow grass in the Pontiac Silverdome (the only domed facility used for that World Cup). And his counterpart at Tennessee, Dr. John Sorochan, was a student member of that 1994 team.

Even more fortuitous for me – and you! – was the fact that MSU had a press kit on Dr. Rogers as well as a person to contact for media requests.

With that, in this episode, I go deep into turf talk (playing from the rough, so to speak😉) with Dr. Rogers, who nearly 20 years ago authored book on growing grass Lawn Geek: Tips and Tricks for the Ultimate Turf from the Guru of Grass.

I suspect you’ll find this Conversation as fascinating as I did as Dr. Rogers discusses both 1994’s successful endeavor as well as the current one which he watches play out – quite literally – on his television every day.