He Proved Her WRONG: Man Walks from NYC to MetLife

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "He Proved Her WRONG: Man Walks from NYC to MetLife"

Kennedy Saves the World | July 15, 2026
Host: Kennedy (FOX News)
Guest: Zealand (YouTuber, Content Creator)

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Main Theme

This episode centers around the World Cup being hosted in the USA and the viral myth among international fans that walking from New York City to MetLife Stadium is "impossible." The host, Kennedy, interviews YouTuber Zealand, who completed the trek on foot, proving naysayers wrong. Their conversation meanders from the challenges of urban infrastructure to World Cup fever, American soccer culture, and humorous banter about fandom and geography.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The NYC to MetLife Walk: Myth-Busting in Action

• Zealand’s Motivation and Route

  • Inspired by Europeans joking about walking to the stadium, Zealand decides to prove it’s possible.
  • "I wanted to walk from what I think a lot of people that maybe aren't from New York would consider the heart of the city, which would be Times Square..." (Zealand, 02:22)
  • Started at 5:30 AM in Times Square to arrive by 3 PM for the game, only three hours of sleep. (02:55)
  • Researched the route with Google Maps, spotted a feasible sidewalk approach, notably from the north. (02:55–03:45)

• Central Park & George Washington Bridge

  • Walking the full length of Central Park became a significant part of the journey.
    • “Central Park was, you know, 15 to 20% of the entire experience… probably the prettiest three and a half miles...” (Zealand, 04:14–04:20)
  • Crossing the George Washington Bridge was a new and unnerving experience due to its size and movement:
    • “That bridge shakes. That was freaking me out a little bit.” (Zealand, 05:15)
    • The bridge is the only pedestrian crossing from Manhattan to New Jersey. (05:50–06:09)

• Arrival in New Jersey

  • Most of the warnings about “no sidewalk” proved to be unfounded.
    • "There was sidewalk the entire way… one point that I had to walk across a parking lot, but as far as I know, that’s legal." (Zealand, 07:13)
  • Did not see other fans until a mile and a half from the stadium; cautious about being stopped by police. (07:43)

American and International Soccer Culture

• Contrasts in Fan Experience

  • Both host and guest reflect on attending matches and encountering fans from all over the world, especially noticing the diverse, passionate energy fans bring.
  • Shared stories about rooting for underdog teams like Curacao. (09:36–09:57)

• Desire for New Champions

  • Both wish for a "Cinderella story"—a team that’s never won the World Cup—to break through.
  • “At the beginning of the tournament, I just want someone who has never won... There's so much talent now.” (Kennedy, 11:38)

• U.S. Soccer Dynamics

  • Discussed why top American men's talent often goes to other sports, while women’s soccer has greater support and a superpower reputation in the U.S. (15:37–17:03)

FIFA & The Significance of Soccer

• FIFA’s Role and Global Weight

  • Delved into the complexities and corruption associated with FIFA.
    • “That’s the way that corruption has worked with FIFA for forever... It’s hard for people to conceive of how important soccer is to the rest of the world...” (15:14–15:37, Kennedy)

• Soccer as National Identity

  • For many nations (like Argentina), soccer is intertwined with identity:
    • "Their whole national identity is tied into the team.” (Zealand, 17:26)

• Playful Political Commentary

  • Suggested that teams should have to cede territory when they lose important matches, joking about using soccer to settle geopolitical disputes. (17:55–18:13)

Notable Quotes & Humor

• On Route Navigation:

  • “I should have recorded some sort of 18th century instructions about how to navigate the New Jersey wilderness, because, you know, that's where New Jersey is in New York's mind, right?” (Zealand, 08:31)

• On French & Philly Fans:

  • “If I saw French people today, I would be very alarmed. Because they're mad. Yeah. I don't know what French people do when they're mad. I don't know if they're like Philly fans who just start punching things, people, horses.” (Kennedy, 09:03)

• On FIFA & Corruption:

  • “If there is corruption in FIFA, if it's against me, I'm going to argue against it, but if it's with me, I will defend it.” (Zealand, 15:10)

• On Women’s vs. Men’s Soccer Flopping:

  • “Weirdly... I actually think that the men flop more than the women in soccer.” (Zealand, 14:24)

• On Soccer and National Identity:

  • "It's almost like a miniature war for them [Argentina and Brazil] in terms of, like, the geopolitical impact..." (Zealand, 17:26)

• On Combining FIFA & the UN:

  • "Merge FIFA with the United Nations. So it could be useless and corrupt." (Kennedy, 19:05)

Memorable Moments & Timestamps

• [02:55] Zealand describes the early morning start, route planning, and commitment to walking the whole way.
• [04:14] The journey through Central Park—highlighting city beauty versus urban drudgery.
• [05:13] First-timer nerves crossing the George Washington Bridge.
• [07:43] Realization at the edge of the stadium—no other walkers, anticipation of police intervention.
• [09:36] Both recall attending the same underdog match at the World Cup.
• [13:25] Kennedy expresses hope for future U.S. women's team dominance.
• [17:26] Zealand explains soccer’s role in national identity, particularly in Argentina.
• [19:05] Joking about merging FIFA and the UN for global problem solving.

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Guest's Content & Where to Find Him

• Zealand's journey video: [YouTube, channel “Zealand”]
• Soccer commentary and analysis: [YouTube, channel “Zealandism”]
  • “If you want to see me walk all the way ... that’s on YouTube at Zealand.” (19:25)

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Conclusion

This episode offers a quirky, insightful look at cultural perceptions around American infrastructure, the spirit of international sport, and the realities (both comedic and poignant) of modern soccer fandom. Zealand’s walk proves the improbable can be done, punctuated by Kennedy’s trademark wit and engaging rapport.

For soccer fans, curious travelers, and anyone who’s ever been told “it can’t be done”—this is an upbeat exploration of perseverance and global sport.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hello, and welcome to this episode of Kennedy Saves the World. Massive World cup week. We're about to meet the end of World cup fever. I have loved every minute of it. I've loved that the USA has been hosting it along with Mexico and snow Mexico. We have had such a great time in this country meeting different fans from all over the world. And one of the biggest challenges for international fans coming to New York City is how are they going to get from the city to MetLife Stadium, which is, it turns out, not close. So a lot of Europeans were making fun of us, saying, well, I'm just going to walk. And we're like, it's. It's not like traipsing around Berlin or London going to different soccer stadiums. It's really, really far away and, and an impossibility to get to. It's not an easy walk. It's not like couple mile jaunt and you get your steps in. So I was one of those people who was like, based on the intel that I had gathered from my good friends in New Jersey, like, you can't walk there. It cannot be done. I have been proven Wrong by a YouTuber and content creator who walked all the way from New York City, just block and a half away from our Fox News headquarters, all the way to MetLife Stadium. And it was easy breezy for him. I think he did it in a half hour. Zealand, Shannon is here. Hi, Zeland.

[A]

Hi. Yeah, I don't know about the time frame on that, but I did do it for it.

[B]

It took you 20 hours.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, no, it was 20 miles. It took you eight hours. Yeah, I was so at first I was like 20 because I got that stuck in my head. It was like 20 hours. Because you started in Times Square when it was dark.

[A]

Yeah. No, there was no. There was no reason to do that other than to prove a point. It would. If I was trying to just get there and save a lot of money, it would have been way easier. But I wanted to walk from what I think a lot of people that maybe aren't from New York would consider the heart of the city, which would

[B]

be Times Square and where a lot of people have been staying and congregating. It's where the fan zone is.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

It's a lot of action here. If you've never been to New York City, this is, this is the first place you go. It's what you want to see. Meet up with your friends, watch games that you're not attending in person. So you started in Times Square.

[A]

Right. But because the game kicked off at 3pm, I had to start at 5:30 in the morning in order to get there in time to, to watch the game. So three hours of sleep, I'm waking up at, you know, 4, 4:30. I live in the city, so I commuted basically to Times Square, and then I walked just the entire way. And I. It was one of those things where I'd heard all the same stuff that you had. You had heard. But I was looking at Google Maps and kind of doing the whole street view scroll thing, and I just went, I see a sidewalk. Like, there is a way. Now, from most directions. That's the thing is, like, from most directions, I don't think you can, but there is a direction. Sounds like some sort of, like, military strategy almost. From the north. If you come at it from the north, there is just a road that looked clear. And I fully expected.

[B]

Unfortunately, you were, you were coming from the south.

[A]

I was.

[B]

And then you had to go north.

[A]

Oh, well, yeah.

[B]

You had to walk. Well, you didn't have to, but you did walk through Central park, which made me laugh, because Central park is massive.

[A]

Yeah, no, that was.

[B]

It's like driving through Texas. When you're driving through Texas from the west coast and you hit El Paso, you're like, I'm here. And then it takes like four and a half years to get to the other side of Texas.

[A]

No, it's, it's, it's. I, I, I had a lot of people on the YouTube video, which is, which has since come out, that were like, why did you make Central park take so long? Like, narratively, why did you have so many different scenes and shots of Central Park? And I'm like, well, because Central park was, you know, 15 to 20% of the entire experience was just in Central Park. Because if you walk the entire length of it, which I did, you know, south to north and pop out in Harlem, it's like over, you know, it's over three miles, three and a half miles of just. And honestly, probably the prettiest three and a half miles that I had of the whole walk. The rest of it was just streets and cars.

[B]

And it's Just gross.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean I was actually happy for you that, you know, the beginning part of your journey was a nice respit from the armpit that is the rest of the walk. No, the GW Bridge was nice.

[A]

The, the, the, the George was. I'd never done that. Like once I hit the George Washington Bridge, I was in totally new experience territory because that is, I want to

[B]

jump over the edge at some point.

[A]

I, that bridge shakes. That was freaking me out a little bit. That if you've ever walked George Washington.

[B]

Never walked it. I've contemplated riding my bicycle over it, but I've never walked it.

[A]

Yeah, no. And there are a lot of people doing that by the way, which creates more danger for the walk. You know, like a lot of manufactured jeopardy on this whole thing. And it, it shakes a lot because it's the busiest bridge in the world, I've been told, because it's got multiple layers and there's just, you know, it's a traffic jam 24 7. So it's shaking pretty violently. And I don't have a fear of

[B]

heights during a very wide part of the Hudson River.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. It is. Also for those wondering why I walked all the way up to the George Washington Bridge from Times Square, which is like 140 streets, the only pedestrian crossing from Manhattan to New Jersey. The only way I didn't want to take a ferry that felt like I

[B]

was just going to ask. Could you have taken a ferry?

[A]

That's right. Like if you wanted to not walk over 20 miles, there was an easy affordable way to do it. There was a bus that could take you somewhere near the north of the stadium where you'd be able to walk in. You could have just taken a subway up to the GW Bridge and cut out a significant portion of the walk. I did, I didn't do that purely out of spite. I wanted to literally use my feet to get from Times Square into the stadium. And you know, after surviving the harrowing shaking of the bridge and whatever was going on in New Jersey, it turned out to be completely possible.

[B]

Okay, so when you, when you got to the New Jersey side, right. What, what were you saying to yourself?

[A]

I will. That's where things got a little weird because I'd never walked in New Jersey before. Especially because when you're getting off the GW Bridge, it's just kind of you on a walkway surrounded by 25 lane highways basically. And you're just kind of.

[B]

That was the other thing. That was the other thing that people were warning, like there's there's no sidewalk. Was there sidewalk?

[A]

There was. There was sidewalk the entire way. There was one point that I had to walk across a parking lot, but as far as I know, that's legal. So my approach was, I'm going to do this in a way that is completely legal according to street laws. And there was a point where the sidewalk ended and you just basically walked across a parking lot and got to the next sidewalk, and that was maybe two miles from the stadium. So even when I was surrounded by all these highways, there was a protected

[B]

walkway, the whole one else walking with you.

[A]

No, No. I did not see another fan. You know, when you ever go to a sporting event, you see that kind of group of people where you can tell they're going to the game. I did not see another fan until I was about a mile and a half from the stadium. And that was actually the first time that I knew that I was going to be able to make it because I was just waiting for the New Jersey State Trooper or something that had been assigned to make sure nobody was walking in to stop me. I was just waiting for that to happen.

[B]

Yeah, of course. And. And I wish you had done it with MapQuest directions and a sundial.

[A]

Well, the map quest, so that I could lead other people in the future.

[B]

Like, sundial and a compass. Like.

[A]

Okay, yeah, no, like my forefathers around there.

[B]

And then I'm gonna veer. Right.

[A]

Right now. I should have recorded some sort of 18th century instructions about how to navigate the New Jersey wilderness, because, you know, that's. That's where New Jersey is in New York's mind. Right.

[B]

Ptolemy had no Pythagoras.

[A]

Pythagoras would have been proud of me getting through there. Yeah. But I saw those people and I realized that I was going to be able to make it because those people clearly had tickets to the game. So I was just walking and eventually ended up surrounded by French people, which sometimes can be alarming, but in this instance was very exciting.

[B]

If I saw French people today, I would be very alarmed. Because they're mad. Yeah. I don't know what French people do when they're mad. I don't know if they're like Philly fans who just start punching things, people, horses.

[A]

I don't know. I mean, Philly fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus. So I don't know if France is going down that rabbit hole.

[B]

They're animals.

[A]

Yeah. I'm scared of Philadelphia. I went there for one of the games and so did I. Really.

[B]

I think we Went to the same game.

[A]

I went to the Curacao game.

[B]

I went to the Curacao Ivory coast game.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yes. And I was in the Curacao section with a Curacao flag on my face, and I was chanting, Ziggy Bombay. Curacao, Ziggy Bombay. Don't know what it means. Ask the lady. She was like, oh, it means go after the ball. Curacao, go after the ball.

[A]

It sounds much cooler in their language.

[B]

It really does. Like, everything sounds cool. They were. Those crystal fans were so happy. I wanted their team so badly to just score one goal. Just one.

[A]

I know they got one against. They got one earlier in the tournament. That, to me, that's always the Germany. Yeah, that's the checklist. When you go in as a new team, you got to score one goal and you got to get a point.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they did both those things. So I was. I was really happy for him. But I was. I'm not going to lie, at that game, I was hoping Curacao was going to win. How could you not reach these guys?

[B]

I wanted them to win so badly. I wanted all of those Cinderella teams to just do. Just to prove to the soccer haters why the game is awesome. Yet here we are, Spain is in. And, you know, as of this recording, we have. We have not yet witnessed the England, Argentina game, but whoever wins the World cup has already won it before. And I wanted one of these Cinderella teams to make it at least to the semifinals, and they didn't.

[A]

Oh, somebody. So I've been making YouTube videos in the soccer space for. For years, and anytime you do that, as an American soccer, you're always. Yeah, no, I'm just glad this is an American podcast because oftentimes I, you know, I get a lot of heat for saying the word soccer in the world that I live in. But I get asked, you know, going into the tournament, who do you want to win? My answer is always, I don't care. I mean, if us, obviously, if it's not going to be the U.S. a team that's never won before.

[B]

That's all I wanted. And that's what I said at the beginning of the tournament. I just want someone who has never won. And there were enough good teams that I wanted one of them to. To just break through. There's so much talent now.

[A]

I know there is. There's much more parody, but this was basically the equivalent of March Madness, when all 41 seeds make the final four. Yeah, that's what we got.

[B]

It's like, oh, look, It's Duke and North Carolina.

[A]

Oh, Kansas again. Very excited. Can we have Creighton win everything, please, one time? But no, we did. We didn't even get a George Mason or anything this year. We. Kate Verd was fun. I liked that was so much fun.

[B]

I love that. I. I was screaming. I wanted them to win so badly. Oh. If the US Men's team had played with that kind of heart, they would have beat the living crap out of Belgium. At least tied the game.

[A]

Belgium was gettable. That was. That was a pretty. That was an embarrassing game, but it was a great tournament. But that last game was. I don't know what happened sometimes, but that's a problem.

[B]

That's. That's how so many fair weather soccer fans are left with a bad taste in their mouth. Don't go anywhere more. Kennedy saves the World right after this.

[A]

And we're live on matchday as Doug reaches for a Buffalo wing. He's got it. Oh, and he's gone for a can of Pepsi, too. What a finish. There's no doubt about it. It just tastes better. Matchdays deserve Pepsi. Cheers to America's 250th birthday. Get 20% off your first purchase at foxnewswineshop.com with code FNRADIO20. 20% discount excludes wine club offers and cannot be combined with any other promotion. Expires July 31, 2026. Must be 21 or older to order. Please drink responsibly.

[B]

I hope the women do very well next year. I'm hearing that the women's team in the World cup is going to be the best women's team we've had in a generation, which I hope is true. And I hope they just absolutely annihilate the competition so people come back around again and go, oh, yeah, soccer is pretty amazing, isn't it?

[A]

I mean, yeah. I think the good news is in women's soccer, we are what Brazil is. In men's soccer, you know, we are the traditional superpower. And that just. That just feels so much better sometimes to watch. You're like, Because I love rooting for the US Men's team, but there always seems to be a wall they run into. And until I feel like they're actually going to break through that wall.

[B]

Rooting for mental wall to you.

[A]

Absolutely. Absolutely.

[B]

The mental aspect of the game just break down before your eyes and you're like, who are these players? These were not the guys who were on the field a couple days ago. Like, what is going on here? Do the Women flop as much in soccer,

[A]

weirdly. I. I don't. I don't think so. I'm. I'm. I actually think that the men flop more than the women in soccer because there's just.

[B]

Just to get the fouls, is it just get a little bit of an advantage?

[A]

It's. So soccer is a very difficult game to officiate because the field is huge,

[B]

and the one guy officiating is so crooked that they're. They're too busy making sure that Lionel Messi is protected.

[A]

Look, I. They have gotten the benefit of some lucky calls is, I believe, the official wording of that. But it. It's. It's the old meme where if there is corruption in FIFA, if it's. If it's against me, I'm going to argue against it, but if it's with me, I will. I will defend it.

[B]

And that's like, well, all right, just soccer, that's.

[A]

That's the way that corruption has worked with FIFA for forever. And I, I do a lot of videos, like, going back and diving into the history of that. And it's. I think it's also difficult to run an organization that, you know, the United nations can attest to this, to run an organization that dramatically affects the entire world. Very difficult to actually run that organization and have people agree that things are going well. It's hard.

[B]

It's hard for people to conceive of how important soccer is to the rest of the world because it's like, take your. Your. The love you have for your favorite football team, and that football team, like, finally makes a Super bowl, and. And then you have your love for your favorite basketball team. Like, put all of that love, all of that intensity, all of that passion in. In one place. Like, for New Yorkers, it would just be like, how you feel about the Knicks right now, that is everyone else in the world about soccer, because that's pretty much what they have. You know, they. They have cricket, they have rugby, and it's like they're passionate about the sports, but nothing comes close to soccer. And they're very. And this is the other thing with the men. Their very best athletes only play soccer. Like, they've got. They've got one funnel, and they take the best guys because it's different in women's soccer. It's different in women's soccer in this country. And they. They funnel them to. To soccer. And here it's like, oh, you're fast and kind of tall. Okay, you're going to be a tight end, like, you're going to be. You're going to be a running back. You're Saquon Barkley. Saquon Barkley's parents are not like, we have to get him into a soccer program right now. We have to. We have to pay. We have to get him into travel. Soccer. No. Hell, no. No. He's going to. He's going to go to the NFL. He's going to make money. He's. He's going to play football.

[A]

Yeah. I think it's the way I To. The first part of that, the way I always like to describe it, is you take your favorite football team, but then you got to sprinkle a little bit of the Olympics magic on top of it, because it's like, not only is it your favorite team, but then there's also this. There's this element of patriotism. And for a lot of these countries, I think Argentina, who's about to play right after we record this is a great example. Their whole national identity is tied into the team.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Like, who Argentina is. What it means to be Argentinian is like, the team is a huge part of that for them. And so it's kind of like watching your. It's almost like for some of these matchups, you know, when Argentina plays Brazil, it's almost like a miniature war for them in terms of, like, the geopolitical impact or whatever.

[B]

But, yeah, they should. You know what? This is just occurring to me. They should have to cede land. Like, up the stakes.

[A]

Like you can. You know, you think it's important now there's those every. Everybody's got those little border conflicts.

[B]

There's a little bit of disputed territory. Nope. Sorry.

[A]

Play a match. Yeah.

[B]

Goes back to Columbia this year. Sorry, guys.

[A]

It's like that. You know, honestly, there are worse ideas that exist. There are far worse ideas that exist.

[B]

Alas, the rain. Germany, you asked out in the round of 32.

[A]

Yeah. It's going back to France, easy.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Germany. Germany's going to not have Alsace Lorraine for a while, the way things are going for that team.

[B]

But, yeah, I almost felt bad for them.

[A]

Oh, I know. But it's. Hey, if you can't be Paraguay, it's not for everybody. Right? We did that.

[B]

Yeah, exactly right. I mean, that. That superpower Paraguay should be like, no, give us something.

[A]

Yeah, no, they.

[B]

We'll take it.

[A]

They just. Hey, they deserve something. I like the way they played in this tournament.

[B]

They were good given Greenland,

[A]

so.

[B]

Well, Denmark, someone.

[A]

Denmark didn't even make the tournament.

[B]

So, you know, then they don't get it. They do not. Like, we don't know if the US should get it.

[A]

We should go to the United nations with this. I think we're onto something. We should. We should use the matches to just settle everything.

[B]

Merge FIFA with the United Nations. So it could be useless and corrupt. Where. Where can people find you on YouTube and elsewhere? Where can they. Where can they experience the content that you have created so lusciously?

[A]

Right. If you want to see me walk all the way to Matt Life or, sorry, New York, New Jersey Stadium. You want to see me walk all the way there. That's on YouTube at Zealand. I do a lot of soccer commentary on a channel called Zealand Ism. And.

[B]

And that's Zealand, like New Zealand. Z, E, A L, A N D. And you can see him get buggered by a hobo.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

In Secaucus.

[A]

And a police officer. Actually, it was concerned what I was doing. Yeah, I was. Because I was just standing in the shade in a gas station parking lot and I looked very bizarre. So he was worried that I was up to some. Up to no good. I appreciate it.

[B]

Son, take your pants off.

[A]

All right.

[B]

We're going to do this the New Jersey way, and it's not going to be easy for either one of us. Yeah.

[A]

So you're just. Impromptu strip search. But, hey, look, in order to prove my point, I'm willing, you know, we push through.

[B]

I really appreciate the commitment. I appreciate being proven wrong and I. I really appreciate your passion for soccer Zealand. Thank you so much.

[A]

Hey, thanks for having me on. Glad you've enjoyed the World Cup.

[B]

I've loved it and I'm gonna love the rest of it. And I'm gonna squeeze every precious drop out of the few days we have left. This has been Kennedy Saves the World along with Shannon. I'm Kenny. Listen. Ad free. With a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcasts and Amazon prime, members can listen to this show ad free on the Amazon music app. Oh, go ahead and leave me a review while you're there. I'd love to hear what you have to say. You've been listening to Kennedy Saves the World on the Fox News Podcast Network.