Kudos, KC, your Oranje Fanwalk was epic. Way to be good hosts | Williams

We are only halfway through the World Cup in Kansas City, and of course, with anything of this magnitude, there are bound to be ups and downs, as the saying goes.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi landed a hat trick on the pitch at Kansas City Stadium in the first game of our World Cup series. That put KC in the national spotlight right away.

FIFA Fan Fest KC seems to be a big hit, with thousands showing up and having a good time. A few complaints from vendors not making as much money as they thought they would, but, eh! Not a stain.

Day one traffic woes were a bit of an embarrassment though, not to mention the violence in the city, which, whether we want to admit it or not, is Kansas City — the violence, I mean. It seems traffic is flowing better now. Or at least if it’s not, no one’s complaining.

All that said, I don’t think there’s been anything to happen thus far that says how much Kansas City has embraced having world visitors more than the way the city responded to the Netherlands’ Oranje Fanwalk down Grand Boulevard on Thursday afternoon.

From Pershing Road, looking north along Grand Boulevard for as far as my eyes could see, it was a sea of orange. I hung out with the stragglers who came too late to jump in on the walk but just wanted to witness the thing. Then I had to go up high, checking it all out from my office window at Crown Center, because I didn’t want to miss the volume of it.

Not everyone participating in the walk, cheering, dancing and tossing plastic balls in the air, was a Netherlands fan, either. But everyone seemed to be having fun. Several folks told me they came out wearing their orange T-shirts just to be a part of something that is once in a lifetime, and they wanted Kansas City’s Orange Walk to be the biggest and best of the entire World Cup games.

I don’t know about that, but I do know that Kansas City showed out, embraced the event and helped our visitors feel right at home in our city. Kudos, KC, that’s the way to honor your city — by being great hosts.