World Cup Fever and the English Antidote

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Almost from the start of my trip a sense of communal expectaction had been building in South America about the World Cup. As early as March the lead news story on Argentine tv had been the replacement of the normal run of the mill strikes and protests about the state of the economy with demonstrations in favour of the inclusion of Carlos Tevez in the Argentine World Cup squad. (Tevez is very much the people's hero, seen as the local boy who made good but remained true to his roots. Messi may be admired and respected but Tevez is loved.)

In Peru the conversation was more analytical. Having failed to qualify themselves the locals wanted to know what I thought of England's chances and who the dark horses might be. By the time I got to Ecuador and met up with John and Penny the build up was well and truly in full swing. Bars were beginning to deck themselves out in national colours and display various football motifs.

During our trip to Galapagos we'd met Australians and a German whose next stops would be Brazil and the World Cup. Travelling with different expectations the Aussies were delighted to have tickets for all their group games whilst the German had (correctly) assumed that Germany would top their group and bought options on tickets to allow him to follow Germany from quarters through to the final. We even met one poor benighted soul at Bogota airport who was flying out to the Colombian jungle and would then face a 3 day boat ride in order to get to Manaus for the England v Italy game.

However, once we touched down in Colombia there could be no doubt that we'd really arrived on Planet Football. The locals regardless of sex or age were kitted out in Colombia shirts and traffic was only a minor impediment to games of street football. Almost without exception everything on tv from advertisements to soaps had a football theme. Even party political broadcasts for the upcoming election only just stopped short of promising the World Cup and definitely seemed to intimate that at the very least a vote for such and such would guarantee more football.

By the time we set off on our trip to Punta Gallinas the long wait was almost over and excitement was approaching fever pitch. We'd planned our schedule taking careful account of the England games and knew we needed to be back in Riohacha for the afternoon of June 14th. It was an unlooked for bonus to watch the Brazil v Croatia game in Punta Gallinas - rather than shattering any illusion of remoteness it seemed to reinforce the sense of football's ubiquity. It had been a wrench to miss the second half of Spain v The Netherlands but on our return from Punta Gallinas we´d have a few days in which we could immerse ourselves in the football.

We were travelling back to Riohacha for the first Colombian game (against Greece). We stopped in Uribia so that Emilio could stock up on petrol. The whole town seemed to be clustered around tvs, dragged out into people's front yards. The only traffic consisted of a handful of stragglers hurrying in their yellow Colombia shirts to the nearest tv. By the time we made it back to Riohacha the game was over and the victory celebrations were in full swing. Cars paraded down the street, happy passengers leaning from the window and waving flags and chanting "Col-omb-ia! Col-omb-ia!". Happy fans spilled onto the street and it appeared as if the town had gone yellow for the day - flags and decorations were everywhere, and the yellow Aguila beer cans and ubiquitous yellow taxis only added to the conspiracy. The atmosphere was infectious, and one wondered what England and Italy would bring to the party...

We'd identified a bar on the beach front for the game, and had it pretty much to ourselves, the locals being far too busy celebrating and reliving this morning's glories to worry about other games. We tried to digest the significance of Costa Rica's surprise defeat of Uruguay and decided it had to be good for England providing they could manage to avoid defeat...

...The game itself was a curious experience. On balance I found the football experience greatly improved by the breathless spanish commentary and theatrical goal celebration. Its enthusiasm compensated for our incomprehension and at least we were spared the tedious analysis and the usual excesses of optimism and despair. It seemed a creditable performance, certainly much better than one had feared. But of course following England is ultimately rarely ever a pleasure, so the defeat had an awful inevitability to it.

The following day we headed to Santa Marta, where we esconced ourselves in a very comfortable hostel, which felt more like a boutique hotel complete with swimming pools and rooftop bar, and settled into a very comfortable routine of trying to stay as cool as possible whilst watching as much football as practical. It was interesting how early into the tournament the usual World Cup cliches began to assert themselves - the Germans looked ominous and the Argentinians flaky and over-reliant on one player.

We tore ourselves away from the tv for a couple of days at Tayronna National Park (we planned our trip ensuring we would be back in Santa Marta in plenty of time for England v Uruguay). In booking our accommodation it had been unclear whether we would have Wi-Fi or indeed access to tv on which to follow the games, but the white sands and clear seas of Tayronna were too much of a lure. Sacrifices would have to made (Belgium v Algeria and Brazil v Mexico), this would toughen us up for the Lost City trek when the likelihood was we'd be a whole 4 days with little or no information about the football. Still we'd chosen a very tranquil eco-lodge and lieing in the hammock listening to the noises of the jungle it was possible momentarily to forget that we were just a couple of days away from the crucial, must win (or at least can´t lose) game against Uruguay...

We were back in Santa Marta early on the morning of the 19th, determined to catch the Colombia game, which as far as the locals were concerned was the only show in town. Again the shirts were out in full strength and the streets deserted as the locals disappeared into bars and houses to watch the tense 2 - 1 victory over the Ivory Coast which took Colombia through to the knock out stage. Joy was unconfined, and again there was dancing in the street. Maybe some of the infectious enthusiasm might carry over into our enjoyment of the England game? Hopes were quickly dashed and we were once again reduced to fretful tension, waiting for the goal that seemed as though it would never come, and then after the miracle of an equaliser, realising that any relief was destined to be short-lived.

We traipsed off into the jungle knowing that England's chances hung by a thread, but surely Italy would beat Costa Rica and give us a meaningful match to watch on the 24th...

Either the jungle telegraph suffered a catastrophic malfunction or we heard only what we wanted to hear but somehow a rumour reached us that Italy had beaten Costa Rica 1 - 0 and on the night before the match with Costa Rica we were too busy celebrating our return from the jungle to check with official sources. As a result we were perhaps the only England fans in the world who went into the Costa Rica game labouring under the delusion that England still had a slim chance of qualification. Such is the power of wishful thinking that even the sight of England's second team raised eyebrows but not doubts...

What can I say everyone said England weren't very good and would struggle to get out of the group stage. Everyone was right. Fortunately our adopted country, Colombia, were playing on the same day. They won't win the World Cup (don't tell the locals) but they'll have a hell of a party whilst they're still in. Again they swept to victory over an admittedly poor Japan playing fast, counter-attacking football and showing a clinical efficiency in front of goal that put England to shame. Cue more dancing in the streets...

We were off to Cartagena and then on to the Carribean and very much looking forward to watching more of the football in both, although for better and worse it wouldn´t be the same without the stress and inevitable heartache.

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Comments

[Nigel]

Colombia
I think Colombia can win the Cup. James Rodriguez is a star.

[fromthebottomup]

I hope you're right Nige. Certainly yesterday was their best game yet but next up Brazil...

[nige]

football
Should be a good game anyway. Just settling down for Holland v Mexico with Jim. Hope the rest of your holiday goes well.

[fromthebottomup]

Thanks Nige. Gotta feel for those Mexicans.

[D MJ Binkley]

World cup fever
It must be wonderful to be experiencing this event from South America and hearing the local stories and thoughts.