Has anyone ever been to the World Cup?

I went with a few members of my family when it was in Guadalajara in the late 80s. We had a blast. The Brazilian team stayed at our hotel and my cousin had a great flirtation with one of the hostesses. Mom bought all kinds of fun cr@p like brass pelicans and saddles and see through blouses at a huge market when the games were over. My uncle showed me the murals of a Mexican artist that drew God as a dirty old man. My uncle was in his late sixties and a stroke survivor by then. I still can't believe he tramped all the way from the hotel by cane to the Orosco display just to see me turn red and laugh out loud.

Did anyone go out to South Africa this time around?

:)

I lived in Europe when the Cup was going on in Argentina back in '78, and the country I was in just SHUT DOWN for all the broadcasts. The bars, the stores, everyone everywhere all fixated on the games. Americans think the Super Bowl is hot shit, but it has NOTHING on real football and its fans. I'll take a month of partying and camaraderie all focused on the GAME and a sincere appreciation of it, over one day of media-hyped fixation on new commercials, exposed nipples, and the occasional 3 minute interruptions for the "action". And these people say soccer is boring! :D

Nothing can match the passion and intensity.

:thumbsup:

:toast:

can be bored by it. :)

For which not even cowbell is needed. :-)

I was fresh out of a U.S. university in '78 and had landed a job in Buenos Aires. Went to several games including the final Argentina v. Netherlands.

There was a big controversy over Argentina making it to the final match because to get there, Argentina had to beat Peru but at least four goals to qualify over Brazil in goal advantage.

At the time, Argentina was ruled by a military dictatorship and it was desperate for anything that would make it look good in the eyes of the world. So the rumors were that the Peruvian players were paid 50,000 dollars each to throw the game to Argentina. The Argentines wound up winning 6-0 and made it to the final game and beat Netherlands for the title.

To this day, Brazilians have not forgiven the Argentines and when their national teams play, the rivalry is intense beyond words for the fans.

In the '94 World Cup here in the States, went to an elimination match in Orlando, FL, between Ireland and Netherlands. The stadium was packed with around 73,000 fans, on one side it was solid orange for the Dutch, the other side solid green for the Irish.

Netherlands won, but thousands of fans from both sides gathered at a refurbished railroad station in downtown Orlando to drink beer, sing "YMCA," get a little rowdy but a good time was had by all. No violence at all.

------------------

Andres Escobar of the Colombian national team.

An attractive young lady was sitting next to me during a minute of silence before the Irish-Dutch match for Escobar. She was weeping and I asked her if she was okay. She said she had been a college student with Escobar in Colombia.


Escobar was shot and killed at a bar in Medellin because he scored an own-goal, giving the USA a 1-0 victory and eliminating Colombia from the Cup. He was killed because some scumbag had bet a lot of money that Colombia would beat the USA. Escobar was shot about eight times and each time a bullet hit him, his killer would yell "goooooool." The killer served a few years in prison but was released.

(Related) See my post about the USA-England 1950 World Cup shocker and the Haiti connection over at the Latin American forum.

:hi:

:wow:

My mom and brother went to the 94 Mundial, iirc. Pata de chucho, they're always on the street.

:hi:

Escobar's "goal" made the score 1-0.

I stand corrected. Tks.

It was sad.

But I was living in Buenos Aires during the '90 World Cup in Italy. Every time that Argentina would win a game, the streets would explode with cars honking, people throwing confetti off balconies, general pandemonium. During games, the world came to a halt. No business was conducted. Nobody was on the streets. Everyone in the country, it seemed, was in front of a TV.

Before that, I had never watched a game of soccer in my life. Now, every 4 years, I go just a bit crazy.

and there was no escaping the excitement. A few games were held here in town and there were people from so many countries visiting, crowds on the sidewalks throughout the night, but all were celebrating peacefully, laughing, having a great time. And this electricity in the air...

I had been really worried beforehand about Germany showing itself at its worst for all the world to see and was proven wrong, thankfully. What a wonderful time we all had.

Definitely!

Great experience but Dallas is no place to have World Cup games in June/July...

Thank goodness the beer cans didn't melt. :)

in anticipation of Texas summers...

:hi:

Damn, what a great game this has been. :)

US/Colombia

US/Romania

Colombia/Romania

Argentina/Romania

Olympic games: Italy vs Yugoslavia.

And I met Leonardo in 1994 when he came to the Sports bar across the street from where he and the Brazilian team were staying. He had been red carded out so wasn't at the final.

one of the games.

Lot of fun.