No matter where, you saw it and then you had to find someone else and you had to talk about it. You did it in person and you joined the record-breaking social media crowd and hash tagged every drop out of it. It had to be talked about. It was too crazy to exist alone. It had to be confirmed by others.
That's probably the only real difference between watching the game anywhere else in the world and watching it in Brazil (or Germany). Here, we did not talk. The bar a few blocks from our place where Dani and I nearly had to hold our ears prior to the start of the game, they did not talk about it. The place was empty thirty minutes into the game. Bodies were still in seats--every seat--but the place was clearly empty. For two hours, the country was absolutely silent.
People wondered if there would be riots. Violence. Some kind of visceral reaction. It was plausible, right? It's a country with violence issues and they love one thing more than any other. But no. Aside from a few sporadic incidents, there was no response from the 200 million.
Brazil recoiled and walked home. I wiped Dani's tears. I gave the doorman a hug. We all fell asleep a little early.
I'll be both sad and relieved when the World Cup is over. Sad that the action is gone. Relieved that I don't have to deal with the stress.
Not the stress of protests or amplified traffic, but of watching my teams. Rarely do I fully give myself to any team, but at this Cup I cut my heart in half and gave it equally to the US and Brazil. They both were successful early and it sucked me further in. Then, once I was really involved, I realized that soccer is easily the most stressful sport to watch as a fan. Unless you have a two-goal lead there is absolutely no coasting. I'm glad to finally have a break.
I was laughing with Dani the other day. There are hardcore soccer fans here. There are also hardcore protestors against the World Cup. After this week, I don't know what either is supposed to do.
If the experience of living here during the Cup has opened my eyes to anything that I might otherwise have missed, it's the level of corruption that comes with these games. Brazil spent a staggering US $11B and I'm not sure how many decades it will take for them to see dividends on that, if they ever will.
Right now, as you read this, the nation of Qatar is preparing for the 2022 World Cup. The stadiums there are being built by slave laborers. An average of one person per day is dying in this operation. It's something that absolutely would never happen in the US.
Likewise, it's insane to watch FIFA parade around this, "Say No To Racism" campaign. In both the US and Brazil, we don't ask fans to make a decision on racism, we choose for them. There's no place for it in the Western Hemisphere.
FIFA, on the other hand...well...they're still asking.
Please don't wear blackface to the game.
Please don't throw bananas at black players.
Please don't trespass onto the field covered in Nazi propaganda.
(Fun fact: Two of the three things above happened during this Cup alone.)
In America, when Donald Sterling says something racist in the privacy of his home we ban him for life and hijack something he owns. In Brazil, when you say something racist, you've committed an actual crime. There's nothing to decide. It's been decided.
FIFA are the kings of looking the other way in favor of money. I can't think of a more despicable organization.
Yet, there's a lot I'll miss about this World Cup:
-Putting on green and yellow and seeing countless others on the street wearing the same.
-Watching the games on Brazil's Globo Network. Not understanding the commentary, except for one long, dramatic, drawn-out word.
-Seeing Dani write down the final score of every game in her little World Cup fan pamphlet.
-Singing along with the World Cup theme music during each commercial break. Did this play in the US? It was basically on a loop here.
-Seeing the streets of São Paulo turn into a ghost town at game time.
-Watching the US at the local gringo bar. Becoming friends with everyone I met who spoke English.
-The random fireworks when Brazil scored.
-Singing the World Cup theme music as a response to questions Dani asked me or as a point of punctuation at the end of certain sentences.
-Going to the grocery store during an important (non-Brazil) game and seeing every register wide open.
-Watching former Brazilian superstar Ronaldo awkwardly join the Globo commentary team and contribute a grand total of nothing during every game.
-Meeting other foreigners from around the world and getting to say that I live here.
It was a fun time. See you in 2018.
Avenida Vente Tres de Maio normally.
Avenida Vente Tres de Maio during a game.
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