San Francisco 49ers third-string quarterback Brock Purdy is living proof that irrelevancy lies in the eyes of the beholder. After both the 49ers’ starting and backup quarterbacks went down with injuries, Purdy, who was drafted 262^nd —dead last—in the 2022 NFL draft, earning him the NFL’s 86-year-old traditional designation “Mr. Irrelevant,” has gone on to fashion himself a highly relevant season.

When team USA was beaten 3-1 by the Netherlands in Saturday morning’s knockout round, my favorite team was out of the World Cup. Immediately, I adopted a new favorite team—a backup favorite— Japan.

Like the US, they, too, have transformed themselves into a stronger international side, beating both Germany and Spain; but it’s off the pitch that they set themselves apart from the sport’s other powers. I’m referring, of course, to the Japanese team’s tradition of cleaning up after themselves at venues, a tradition that is followed by their fans as well. After beating Germany 2-1 in an historic match at the Khalifa National Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, the Japanese supporters who been deliriously cheering on their team moments earlier, distributed garbage bags among themselves and made their way row by row picking up plastic bottles, paper cups and food packages that had been discarded.