The 2014 FIFA World Cup Experience

I grew up playing football and going to the World Cup has always been my dream. In 2010, me and my friends had a pact: โ€œIn four years, we are going to Brasil.โ€

Itโ€™s a long time, to be honest and planning something like this with 6 different people, with different priorities and major life changes, itโ€™s highly inevitable not to be on the same boat.

Everyone has a dream. And this is mineโ€ฆ

fifa world cup

Luckily, I was able to keep that promise also due to what they call โ€˜major life change.โ€™ It just so happened that I started my South American journey so I am here. I am here because I think I deserve it after all the struggles I have been through just to get here.

And so, I want to share this journey to everyone. Have you ever felt genuinely happy in your life? I mean like really? This is the first time it happened to me and it goes like this: Football is not a popular sport in my country.

Although I have lived in Europe, South Americaโ€™s obsession for the sport is overwhelming. Itโ€™s more than a passion; itโ€™s a religion. People here worship football like itโ€™s a matter of life and death.

My heart jumped and I literally felt it. Seeing people walking around the streets with their countryโ€™s jerseys, watching them sing their team chant with eyes closed and witnessing their reactions every time their team scores (or not) โ€” itโ€™s amazing.

Iโ€™m not giving enough justice to this feeling because itโ€™s more than amazing. I havenโ€™t written anything since Bolivia because Iโ€™m afraid my English vocabulary is slowly burning but still people, I am trying my best. ๐Ÿ™‚

For every game, me and my friends (the ones I met from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia are also here) will try to squeeze in the crowded FIFA Fan Fest for the sake of experience.

It was always a failed mission because we will all end up watching the game solo because weโ€™ll lose each other along the way. Itโ€™s not so bad, really.

Iโ€™ve had several games that I watched alone and I still do the same thing: screaming, shouting and cheering for my team(s).

I was alone and yet the people standing beside me, whom I didnโ€™t personally know weโ€™re treating me as a part of the group, just because I am wearing the Argentinian jersey.

Who Was I Rooting For?

All Latin teams. This year, I was expecting for a change. After seeing Argentina and Brasilโ€™s serious rivalry, I wanted both of them to face each other in the final.

I also believe that the latin countries are stronger now (alright, fine, Germany won the finals) as they were before. For the most part of my life, Iโ€™ve been following the Premiere League, UEFA etc and I never knew anything about Latin Teams until I came here. I-M-P-R-E-S-S-I-V-E.

Well, almost everyone plays for a European Club but being together as a country meant a lot more to me. They function differently. I realized that Ronaldo is so good when playing for Real Madrid but performs like an amateur when heโ€™s playing for Portugal.

The same goes for Messi in Barca: without Iniesta and Xavi in Argentina, oh man, he really sucks. For the latter part of the cup, when Brasil, Germany, Netherlands and Argentina were officially the top 4 finalists, I even had an argument with my friend.

She wanted Netherlands and Germany for the final and so I told her, โ€œIf you want a European finals, watch UEFA. Not the World Cup.โ€

Football Will Piss You Off

No. Let me rephrase that. โ€œPeople will piss you off.โ€ Oh no. Letโ€™s try that again: โ€œMen will piss you off.โ€ Having the Argentinian spanish accent and the Chinese facade, they call me โ€œArgenchinaโ€ here.

I am not really pissed with that. No biggie. I am so used to people making fun of my spanish accent because they do that to all Argentinians. I was the only girl going to the games with the men so what do you expect?

They say I have the balls to and I can go along with them but thereโ€™s just one time that Iโ€™ve had enough. I had so much passion for the sport (plus Argentina and Lionel Messi) so when they were qualified for the finals, questions and critics arose.

Ahhh, fanatics.

Itโ€™s alright if theyโ€™re just ranting on their Facebook walls but the thing is, theyโ€™re bombarding my peacefully-well-made-diplomatic-wall.

Come on, I am not the team manager here or the coach. Why do I get the blame?! Why are you even questioning FIFAโ€™s (well there are too much things to question about them but I donโ€™t really give a sh*t) decisions when you canโ€™t do anything about it and everythingโ€™s not up to you?

What made me roar was when some random dude told me: โ€œWhereโ€™s your passion coming from? The Philippines doesnโ€™t have a football team.โ€ (In a Texas Ranger kind of tone).

โ€œHoney, I know a lot about football more than you do. Donโ€™t try me.โ€ (In my sweet sarcastic tone, snapping my fingers in a Z position)

I wasnโ€™t in a frame of mind to have fun or deal with these men who act like a 12-year old not quite sure what to do with their testosterones.

The ratio of my guy friends over girls are higher and Iโ€™ve had enough fighting with men to last a lifetime. In the end, for the first time in a year, I wasted energy on something thatโ€™s not even worth the fight.

However, I won. Itโ€™s true what they say: when a woman is pissed off, every man will shut their mouths.

After that, I realized, โ€œweโ€™re in the World Cup. This is so normal.โ€ No one chooses their battles here.

I think this is how football is. Youโ€™ll never know how many goals they will score, youโ€™ll never know who will win and most of the time, the best team doesnโ€™t get in the final. Not knowing makes football the most exciting sport than any other else.

Copacabana/Ipanema Nights

After the game, everyone goes to their respective turf to drink and party all night: The Argentinians will always be located in Lapa; the Germans in Copacabana, the rest of the gang in Ipanema and the Brasilians can be found everywhere.

This explains why I have too much photos with Argentinians: there were over 125,000 argentinos who were here for the cup.

So much that youโ€™ll feel you are in Buenos Aires instead of Rio de Janeiro. Street parties were a trend. Everyone will be on the streets with Antarctica or Brahma (cheap Brasilian beers) on their hands, talking, flirting, whatsoever.

There was always something to do every night. You can go to a club even if itโ€™s a Monday and it will be full. And yes, I almost forget to mention the best part: street bbq aka meat sticks!

Women:Men = 1:10

Music to my friends from back homeโ€™s ears but not for my guy friends here. Every time I invite the boys to come with me to the club, they will always say, โ€œare there ladies there?โ€ 

I would say, โ€œYes, thereโ€™s a few.โ€ They would be like, โ€œYeah right. You and one of your girl friends.โ€ They donโ€™t believe me anymore because they know how it is at this moment โ€” sausage fest.

Oh, and you think itโ€™s fun for us? At first, maybe yeah but it gets annoying everyday. Iโ€™ve memorized the Argentinians pick up lines I can write a book about it; I know what a German will say just before he approaches our table;

I am aware of the $$$ that the Americans have that theyโ€™ll always brag to pay for your beer all night; my hands were always ready to slap a latinoโ€™s face before he grabs my behind; I always wore a scarf just in case a Mexican tries to grab my cheeks and kiss me. Whatโ€™s the scarf for? For choking him.

I can go on, you know but really, it gets boring. Good thing I have a battalion of guy friends who were always there to protect me and pretend theyโ€™re my boyfriend.

The funniest thing is that, โ€œtheyโ€™ve all become my boyfriendโ€ in a span of a night. Every time someone tries to hit on me, I just point to the nearest guy friend near me and say, โ€œSorry, Iโ€™m with him.โ€ 

But my french friend, Julien once made fun of me. When I pointed to him, he said to the guy, โ€œNo sheโ€™s not my girlfriend. You can kiss her.โ€ 

I rolled my eyes on him the Kardashian way and walked away โ€” from both of them.

The World Cup Chants

I can sing โ€œYouโ€™ll Never Walk Aloneโ€ or Fernando Torresโ€™ and Xabi Alonsoโ€™s goal chants but I had no idea rivalry songs exists.

Everyone have their own cheers for their teams but the striking ones are from Brasil and Argentina because itโ€™s for each other โ€” the battle of Pele and Maradona, the 1:7 result vs Germany, Maradona being a coke addict, Peleโ€™s greatness and Messi making history, the 1950 ghost from Uruguay and so on.

Itโ€™s really funny sometimes because even if itโ€™s not the two of them playing, they always end up singing against each other.

They sing all night everyone in Rio de Janeiro have memorized the lines. I think they even beat Pittbull and Jennifer Lopezโ€™s World Cup 2014 theme song over the charts.

Safety during the FIFA World Cup

I didnโ€™t feel unsafe, to be honest. Some riots happened between Brasil and Argentina that required police force but from the impressions about Rio de Janeiro, I was expecting more.

The first few days I was walking by the beach, I always get paranoid about my phone and money that it ruined the fun.

One time, let me tell you, with all honesty, me and 2 of my friends from Australia went to a public toilet and I accidentally dropped my $100 that I was suppose to exchange that day.

I only remembered it when we already left the place (about 5 mins after). We ran and came back and guess what? The cleaning lady returned the money to me.

This is, by far, one of the best experiences of my life. On top of the list! This made me believe that dreams really do come true.

One day, my grandchildren will sit before me and I will always remember vividly what happened on this chapter of my life.

I am encouraging you, please attend a World Cup once in your life. Forget Europe, forget the Himalayas โ€” WORLD CUP IS A MUST. Should be on your bucket list!

After the Cup, the city of Rio de Janeiro went quiet abruptly that we were not used to it. Alright, I am not expecting you to have finished this until the end because this is a long as$ post but I hope you did enjoy my World Cup story.

I wish I gave justice to this experience and that youโ€™ve seen what really happened through my writing.

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9 Comments

  1. Really nice Trish. I dont think u give much credit to ur writing but u still write as awesome as u ever did. Not tiring to read at all and i finished til the very end and still wanted for moaaaar #realtalk haha

  2. Oh Trish, really enjoyed this post of yours. Why? Because I am a football fan myself. It was indeed a fun experience. Still in my bucket list though but dreaming of Russia 2018! ๐Ÿ™‚ See you there?!

  3. Hi Trish.. wow.. you’re a football fan as well? me too… a hardcore one at that.. and I dream to watch PL and UEFA too! Cesc and Steven are awesome players as well.. Lionel Messi? A living legend. ๐Ÿ™‚

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