Georgia congressman shows German soccer fan ‘Freddy’ around U.S. Capitol

Freddy was in Washington at the invitation of Nick Adams, a special envoy to the president whose unofficial title is “U.S. tourism minister.” Fuller is a friend of Adams and asked if he could tag along during one of Freddy’s final days in the U.S.

The FIFA World Cup is the most-watched sporting event in the world, with billions of viewers around the globe. Atlanta hosted eight matches this year — highlighted by a dramatic semifinal between Argentina and England — and attracted more than 1 million fans who either attended the games in person or watched from the FIFA Fan Fest in Centennial Olympic Park.

The spectacle launched a new genre of social media star: European tourists fascinated with America’s bounty of fast-food restaurants, roadside attractions and ranch dressing. Freddy, who has kept his identity a secret, was arguably the most well-known.

“He was just celebrating America and celebrating Georgia and just falling in love with our culture and our history and who we are: going to go into a Buc-ee’s, going to giant Southeastern Conference stadiums,” Fuller said. “And it was just fun for everybody to kind of hop on the bandwagon and see America through a fresh set of eyes.”

Freddy covers his face in social media photos with an image of Cristiano Ronaldo, the famous Portuguese soccer player. He uses smiley face emoji to also protect the identity of two buddies who accompanied him on the trip.

Fuller first noticed Freddy when the German tourist spent several days in Georgia in June, including visits to a Waffle House, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and the Bavaria-inspired town of Helen in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“We found a German village in the mountains of North Georgia lol,” Freddy wrote. “I feel right at home.”

Fuller, who is from Helen, said he recognized a kindred spirit — “two people who grew up in a German village” — and began tracking Freddy’s journey on X and Instagram.

As his fame grew, Freddy began getting special treatment across the country — including a private tour of the New Orleans Saints’ football facility, a stay at an expensive Houston hotel suite paid for by former NFL star J.J. Watt and a backstage meet-and-greet with country music star Ella Langley.

It didn’t take long for Freddy’s exploits to attract a barrage of negative comments from cynical fans who soured on the seemingly corporate takeover of his trip and dug through his old posts to find controversial comments and tried to unmask his identity.

Freddy deactivated his X account for a few weeks after Germany was eliminated from the competition. But he returned to social media last week “because I realized that the overwhelming majority of people loved following along.”

“A small group of very loud people shouldn’t be able to ruin something that brought so many others joy,” he wrote.

Fuller said it was “really cool” to show Freddy “the legislative side of our government,” adding that his wife and children were jealous he got to spend time with the social media sensation.

It was Fuller who made sure that Freddy got a chance to see one of the best views of the National Mall from the vantage point of a balcony adjacent to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office. The video Freddy posted on Tuesday evening racked up 1 million views.

“Ending the trip at the nation’s capital,” he wrote.