KIRO NEWSRADIO OPINION

‘The hypocrisy of it’: Curley claims Seattle’s World Cup makeover won’t last

Jul 5, 2026, 6:42 AM

While Seattle has already hosted several FIFA World Cup matches, with one more match left to play, John Curley echoed the praise from many visitors who came to the city for the first time and witnessed how clean and secure the streets were.

Curley soon disagreed with the city’s massive makeover, which catered to out-of-town soccer fans, but asserted that Seattle would return to what it was before the tournament shortly after the visitors left.

“The hypocrisy of it is, like, ‘OK, everybody, let’s clean up because we’ve got guests coming, and let’s all put on our best behavior. Then, as soon as the guests leave, everybody just goes back to being a bunch of slobs again,” Curley said on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “The guests that are coming in, they’re going to have parking, but once they leave, the homeless come back, parking isn’t available, we don’t get a chance to walk around and drink alcohol. That’s only for the people from out of state or country. That’s just wrong.

“If it’s good for the guests, why isn’t it good for the rest of us who are living here? That’s my argument,” Curley continued. “I looked up and said, ‘They’re not doing anything differently. It’s all going to go back to where it was,’ because the celebration is over, and the millions of people who came here all enjoyed themselves.”

Curley admits the World Cup delivered something special in Seattle

Curley, who stated he is not necessarily a fan of soccer, was a fan of the city and of its visitors coming together to celebrate as one, primarily by setting differing politics aside.

“I wasn’t going to bandwagon fan it, but I think overall, even if you don’t like it, just admit that hundreds of thousands of people who came here from other countries saw Seattle on beautiful days, saw everybody being kind to one another, which is essential,” Curley said. “People were open; they were all in it together, and there was no politics involved. Here it is in America, everybody loves it. I think that’s great, I’m all for that.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Please follow our Community Guidelines
John Curley on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
  • listen to tom and curleyTune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 3pm for The John Curley Show.

John Curley

KIRO Newsradio Opinion

Beth's cafe...

John Curley Show

‘Our governor was able to destroy so many businesses’: Curley celebrates Beth’s Cafe coming back to life

Beth's Cafe is open 24 hours a day again. For Curley, host of "The John Curley Show," the comeback is as much an indictment as a celebration.

9 hours ago

Wilson belltown...

Jake Skorheim and Spike O'Neill Show

‘The mayor is just not ready for prime time’: Spike rips Mayor Wilson’s response to deadly Belltown shootings

KIRO host Spike O'Neill said Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's response has been a failure of both communication and common sense.

10 hours ago

embassy suite strike...

Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin Show

‘Ain’t no part of bridge-building happening with this leadership’: Gee questions mayor joining Embassy Suites picket line

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said she was on the picket line to support living wages. But KIRO host Gee Scott wasn't buying it.

12 hours ago

Belltown shooting (1)...

Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin Show

‘I don’t care what the numbers say’: Gee challenges declining crime stats after deadly Belltown weekend

Three separate shootings in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood over the Labor Day weekend left three people dead and three others injured.

15 hours ago

bite of seattle shooting city hall...

Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin Show

‘The leadership stinks’: Gee says Bite of Seattle texts expose what’s really wrong at City Hall

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's office released hundreds of pages of text messages offering details about the communication gap after the Bite of Seattle shooting.

16 hours ago

pituitary tumor brain surgery...

Luke Duecy

Duecy: I had a pituitary tumor. Brain surgery changed my life in ways I never expected

A nurse wheeled my hospital bed into Operating Room 3 at Swedish Cherry Hill. I had spent weeks preparing for the removal of a benign tumor in my brain.

19 hours ago

‘The hypocrisy of it’: Curley claims Seattle’s World Cup makeover won’t last