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Being in Spain Monday must have been a little like being in downtown Indianapolis in 2007 after the Colts won the Super Bowl.
Massive crowds gathered to celebrate Spain’s first World Cup victory after the team defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time. The game was just minutes from going to penalty kicks when Andres Iniesta scored the lone goal a little before 5 p.m. to secure the victory — a tight margin similar to so many of the other games during the past month.
Spain is six hours ahead of Indiana time, so the championship game didn’t end until after 11 p.m., meaning the locals were likely out celebrating most of the night and then dragging themselves out of bed much likes Colts’ fans did back in ‘07.
I wasn’t in Spain Sunday to observe the reactions but I did hear from a student who is there now taking classes. She described the streets as being “crazy” and the city full of “noise.” She joined the locals in shouting “I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish” and “Champions, Champions.” How could you not become an instant fan in such a catching environment?
I was never much of a fútbol (i.e. soccer) fan until Nov. 17, 2004. I was living in Ecuador at the time doing volunteer work. I had been there since October and for the first time began to see just how much people in Latin America live for soccer. We love our football, basketball and baseball in the United States, but the children and adults in Ecuador live and breathe the “world game.”
At the time, Brazil was the winner of the last World Cup, having claimed the victory in 2002. The Brazilians were scheduled to play Ecuador in November, and my friends and I were lucky enough to come across some $30 seats.
Brazil was expected to win but we joined thousands of other fans to root for Ecuador, the underdog. The game didn’t begin until 4 p.m. but everyone said to arrive no later than noon. I’ve been to a lot of sporting events in the United States but have never arrived four hours early unless it was to tailgate.
We took their advice, however, and were soon thankful we had listened. By 1 p.m. there was not an empty seat in the stadium. An hour later, the aisles and stairways were full. It was almost impossible to get out to use the bathroom, let alone evacuate the stadium if an emergency were to occur. Some people had even climbed onto the top of the stadium and were sitting around its circular perimeter.
But what an experience to see two South American soccer teams challenge each other. We joined thousands of other screaming fans as we painted our faces and entered the stadium with yellow soccer jerseys, flags and other memorabilia to watch Ecuador upset the reigning world soccer champions 1-0 following a goal by Edison Méndez in the second half.
Parties broke out in Quito’s streets afterward as everyone celebrated the unexpected win over Brazil.
While I still enjoy basketball, baseball and football (in that order), I’ve become much more of a soccer fan these past six years. It’s hard not to love the sport after spending time with die-hard fans throughout Latin America.
I was flipping between ABC’s coverage of Sunday’s World Cup and Univision (the Spanish-language channel), and it was funny to see how much more enthusiastic the Spanish-language broadcasters were than the U.S. commentators (i.e. gooooooooooooooooooooooool).
As Dave Schultz pointed out in his column Monday, more North Americans are beginning to pay attention to soccer than in the past and it will be interesting to see if this phenomenon continues in the coming years. Some 3.18 million fans attended the 64 soccer matches in South Africa, an average attendance of 49,670 at each match. We wonder how many of those fans were from the United States?
In the meantime, we’ve got four years until the next World Cup. Now would be a great time to begin planning a trip to South America for 2014. The World Cup will take place for a month or so in Brazil that year. I think we can all agree that it will be a dandy.
Or, you could always wait two more years and plan a Brazil trip for 2016 for the summer Olympics, as Rio de Janeiro will host the games.
This South American treasure — which is one of the 20 biggest cities in the world — is stunning by day and night. From its idyllic beaches and natural settings to its samba music and landmarks, Rio is one of the best places I’ve ever visited.
South America has long been considered by many a dangerous place, but after spending five months traveling through eight of its countries and having a fabulous time, I saw firsthand this sentiment is far from true. I would jump at an opportunity to return for a visit any day.
Perhaps The News-Banner will send me there in a few years to do some columns on the Olympics or soccer. Or perhaps I should just start saving now.
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