When I realized that I would be in South America during the World Cup (La Mundial, as they say here) I was excited for what was in store. I trip to Brazil to see a game didn’t seem likely, but I was hoping that it would still be exciting to watch the games in Latin America. The past month has definitely surpassed my expectations…
I always knew that people in other countries cared way more about futbol than we do in the US, but I had no idea just how much people would get involved in the games. As many Chileans explained to me, the World Cup only comes around once every four years, so it’s always an exciting time. What’s more, Chile was one of only 32 teams to make it to the World Cup, which is pretty exciting for a country as small as Chile. With that in mind, I was ready to dress in red to support “La Roja” (the Chilean National Team), put on a scarf that says “Vamos Chilenos!” (“Let’s go Chileans!”) and take in all the pride that was around me.
Chile was in a pool with Australia, Spain and the Netherlands. People weren’t expecting too much from La Roja, given how good the Netherlands were playing and the fact that the Spaniards were the reigning champions. Everyone figured we (I can say that because I’m now Chilean) could at least beat Australia. I watched the first game against the Aussies at the house of my Chilean friend, Naty, with her mom and Veronique. I ended up getting lost trying to get there and was about 30 minutes late, but I already knew that Chile had scored because every car that passed me on the street was honking its horn. Chile beat Australia pretty easily 3-1 and it was a good opening to the mundial.
Occasionally, we decided to cheer for the US, as well… I went to The Shamrock, an Irish Bar in my neighborhood, to watch the US’s first game against Ghana with some friends. As we had expected, it was full of Americans and other English-speaking people, so it was an interesting place to watch the game. They (I can say that because I am no longer American, I am Chilean) ended up beating Ghana 2-1. Excuse the horrible picture, sometimes I still think it’s best to capture a picture…
The second Chile game was definitely the most exciting match that I got to see. I watched it at California Cantina, a bar in Providencia that’s super popular. When we got there, I didn’t see my friends so we just stood with the masses outside to watch the first half. I managed to make it inside for the second half, and boy was it an experience to be surrounded by rowdy Chileans as they played the reigning champions… Chile ended up beating Spain 2-0, thus giving Spain their second loss and eliminating them from the tournament. It was a really really big deal for a small country like Chile to eliminate the previous champions in group play!
I always knew that people in other countries cared way more about futbol than we do in the US, but I had no idea just how much people would get involved in the games. As many Chileans explained to me, the World Cup only comes around once every four years, so it’s always an exciting time. What’s more, Chile was one of only 32 teams to make it to the World Cup, which is pretty exciting for a country as small as Chile. With that in mind, I was ready to dress in red to support “La Roja” (the Chilean National Team), put on a scarf that says “Vamos Chilenos!” (“Let’s go Chileans!”) and take in all the pride that was around me.
Chile was in a pool with Australia, Spain and the Netherlands. People weren’t expecting too much from La Roja, given how good the Netherlands were playing and the fact that the Spaniards were the reigning champions. Everyone figured we (I can say that because I’m now Chilean) could at least beat Australia. I watched the first game against the Aussies at the house of my Chilean friend, Naty, with her mom and Veronique. I ended up getting lost trying to get there and was about 30 minutes late, but I already knew that Chile had scored because every car that passed me on the street was honking its horn. Chile beat Australia pretty easily 3-1 and it was a good opening to the mundial.
Occasionally, we decided to cheer for the US, as well… I went to The Shamrock, an Irish Bar in my neighborhood, to watch the US’s first game against Ghana with some friends. As we had expected, it was full of Americans and other English-speaking people, so it was an interesting place to watch the game. They (I can say that because I am no longer American, I am Chilean) ended up beating Ghana 2-1. Excuse the horrible picture, sometimes I still think it’s best to capture a picture…
The second Chile game was definitely the most exciting match that I got to see. I watched it at California Cantina, a bar in Providencia that’s super popular. When we got there, I didn’t see my friends so we just stood with the masses outside to watch the first half. I managed to make it inside for the second half, and boy was it an experience to be surrounded by rowdy Chileans as they played the reigning champions… Chile ended up beating Spain 2-0, thus giving Spain their second loss and eliminating them from the tournament. It was a really really big deal for a small country like Chile to eliminate the previous champions in group play!
To celebrate the victory, I went with some friends to Plaza Italia, the main square in the middle of the city. The police shut down the streets and tons of people come together to celebrate all of the victories. It was nice to get to “rush” something after a victory after missing out on the opportunity to rush Franklin Street in Chapel Hill after we beat dook in February. The crowds were mostly tame, though we did get emails afterwards that several busses were vandalized and bus drivers attacked… The only scary part was when people started throwing things at police officers who were guarding the main statue. Eventually, the officers retreated and people stormed the statue to celebrate. Thankfully we saw what was happening and quickly moved away from the area to observe form afar…
After the Spain game, I went to Atacama for a few days. While there, we watched Chile’s third game against the Netherlands. There wasn’t as much pressure on the team because both Chile and the Netherlands would advance to the next round, but everyone really wanted Chile to win so that they could play Mexico in the next round instead of the home favorite, Brazil. Sadly, Chile lost to the Netherlands 2-0, but it was a really close game for most of it.
We also watched the US’s second game versus Portugal at the hostel. For most of the game, it looked like the US would come out on top, until Portugal scored with something like 15 seconds left and it ended up as a tie. The only slightly awkward part was when we realized approximately 85 minutes into the game that the guy sitting next to us was from Portugal… And of course, he had to ask “Don’t people not really care about, what do you call it, oh soccer, in the US anyway?” Guilty, sorry Portugal…
I watched Chile’s last (</3) game at another Chilean friend’s house. Everyone knew it would be a tough game against Brazil, and Chilean really held it’s own. Through the 90 minutes, two overtime periods and penalty kicks, we were all on the edge of our seats and I heard many Spanish curse words. Sadly, it came down to the very last penalty kick, and Chile was eliminated. It was still a really good game, though, and seeing Chile make it so far against a team like Brazil was really nice!
The last game I watched was the US’s last (</3) game versus Belgium. I went back to California Cantina with some friends and found just about every American in Santiago in that bar. It was an exciting game, with it going into overtime, but sadly the US lost their steam just as Belgium was getting more. We all thought the US could get another goal in the last few minutes to tie it back at 2-2, but they just ran out of time. And so ended my world cup experience in Chile…
Since coming to Peru, I’ve seen that the World Cup Fever doesn’t just exist in countries with teams that are playing. There have been a couple of games since I’ve been here, and everyone is still glued to their TVs. I was walking down the street one afternoon, and I saw that just about everyone in the restaurants and stores was watching the TV to see if Colombia would beat Brazil (sadly, they didn’t…) There are big signs in the neighborhood with the upcoming games and all of the scores. Clearly, the World Cup extends to countries that aren’t technically represented!
We also watched the US’s second game versus Portugal at the hostel. For most of the game, it looked like the US would come out on top, until Portugal scored with something like 15 seconds left and it ended up as a tie. The only slightly awkward part was when we realized approximately 85 minutes into the game that the guy sitting next to us was from Portugal… And of course, he had to ask “Don’t people not really care about, what do you call it, oh soccer, in the US anyway?” Guilty, sorry Portugal…
I watched Chile’s last (</3) game at another Chilean friend’s house. Everyone knew it would be a tough game against Brazil, and Chilean really held it’s own. Through the 90 minutes, two overtime periods and penalty kicks, we were all on the edge of our seats and I heard many Spanish curse words. Sadly, it came down to the very last penalty kick, and Chile was eliminated. It was still a really good game, though, and seeing Chile make it so far against a team like Brazil was really nice!
The last game I watched was the US’s last (</3) game versus Belgium. I went back to California Cantina with some friends and found just about every American in Santiago in that bar. It was an exciting game, with it going into overtime, but sadly the US lost their steam just as Belgium was getting more. We all thought the US could get another goal in the last few minutes to tie it back at 2-2, but they just ran out of time. And so ended my world cup experience in Chile…
Since coming to Peru, I’ve seen that the World Cup Fever doesn’t just exist in countries with teams that are playing. There have been a couple of games since I’ve been here, and everyone is still glued to their TVs. I was walking down the street one afternoon, and I saw that just about everyone in the restaurants and stores was watching the TV to see if Colombia would beat Brazil (sadly, they didn’t…) There are big signs in the neighborhood with the upcoming games and all of the scores. Clearly, the World Cup extends to countries that aren’t technically represented!