World Cup Madness

I have never really paid attention to the World Cup before. I know a few people who watch it in Wisconsin, but in general, each time it passes without much attention. Being in South America, and more specifically, a country where soccer is life, I have been able to experience an amazing atmosphere surrounding the whole thing. As I have said before, Uruguay hosted and won the first ever World Cup. The history of excellence and soccer runs really deep here and they are so proud. 

I fully participated and became a true Uruguayan fan starting with going to both friendly games.

I even became a Gacho mascot for the states 

The first one was against Northern Ireland. The game wasn’t all that exciting but it was great to be in the packed stadium. Uruguay won.

The second game was against Slovenia and a lot more interesting. I have never seen professional soccer live so to me, what they were doing out there was truly amazing. We got to the game a little late because we had class so the only seats we could find were in the back of the stadium, on top of a huge cement pillar. Uruguay came away champions once again.

Also, there were fireworks

For the first World Cup match, we all went to a Plaza to watch it on a big screen. Everything shut down. Businesses closed, busses stopped running and the streets were empty. We got our faces painted and ready to cheer on our team! Unfortunately they lost to Costa Rica. The city was a ghost town for the night.

The next game was a big one. We played against England and we had to win if we wanted a chance to move on. Luckily, the star player, Suarez was back after having surgery on a torn meniscus only 3 weeks before. He scored 2 amazing goals and won the game, kicking England out of the running. It is the first time in 50 years that England has been eliminated after the first 2 games. The streets flooded and they were parties everywhere.

The final game of the group round was at 1 on a Tuesday. All classes were cancelled and a huge projector was set up in the cafeteria. We had to win to move on. The room was packed and tension was high. The first half went by without any goals. 

When the second half came around Uruguay scored and the room exploded. Later on, Suarez bit one of the Italian guys, marking the 3^rd time in a game that he has done that. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4aYvyEjX4U 

Also, the world reacted with these:

As the game wrapped up, celebrations began. Once again, the streets were filled with people and with cars honking the whole way down. Three hours later, I found myself on the rambla and it was still packed with people celebrating.

The next day, the ruling came out about Suarez’s bite. FIFA suspended him for 4 months and the next 9 games, leaving him out for the next World Cup game. Uruguay was in rage. Many don’t believe that Suarez even bit the guy, even the president made a statement denying the bite. There were protests in the streets, Bring Back Suarez petitions with millions of signatures and talk of backing out the World Cup in protest.

Saturday came and Uruguay played against Colombia without Suarez. We watched the game from a restaurant in Salto, Uruguay (the hometown of Suarez, 6 hours north of Montevideo). 

They didn’t show up to the game until the middle of the second half and unfortunately they lost.

I’m really sad they are out of the running, not only because they are a great team but also because I love being a part of the spirit. It is truly amazing to see the country come together and cheer so fervently for their team and country.

Another thing that has been really fun about being an international student during the cup is that I get to experience this environment over and over again. We have had game watching parties with the Americans for our games and the French, German, and Mexican students came to support (well, the Germans no). I’ve been an enthusiastic fan of the French as they fight there were to the top and the Mexican team (who lost tragically).

My Uruguayan friends have come to support team USA, decked out in the Red, White, and Blue too. Overall, it has been an amazing way to share cultures, cheering for each other.