With the tournament winding down I thought it might be fun to reminisce over what our favorite moment was from the cup. Between not being able to secure a ticket to the Final and meeting Tiago Splitter getting my visa, I thought I had peaked before leaving. My front row third place game ticket turned into a lottery ticket when the semis were announced because it guaranteed I'd get to see too giants play each other. When Brazil lost I got even more excited knowing I'd either get a South American grudge match or see the Dutch, always my second favorite team as Ajax is the club team I root for. Today I was wavering between wearing my Holland Sneijder jersey or my Ajax jersey, and I opted for the latter as it was a long walk back to my hotel and I figured it reduced my chances of getting jumped after the game (the Brazilian fans were actually great to me, even when I was celebrating the goals) After the game, the Oranje went on a victory lap, and I see one of my heroes, Klaas Jan Huntelaar break from the pack, point at me, and throws his warm up jersey. Unfortunately his arm isn't as good as his foot and it goes to my left and an a-hole in a Brazil shirt snatches it from my hands and said Robben wanted him to have it (KJH = hair, Robben = no hair). KJH had been running back to join the group, turns around, and yells that it was for the guy in the Ajax shirt. What a guy! I was forever an Ajax and Holland fan, but this seals it all the more... I have pics of me at the stadium with it, but it's much bigger than the archaic 1mb limit.
That's an awesome way to end the WC! Watching the Brazil v Chile penalty shoot-out was the highlight for me as a neutral.
Staying in the same hotels as both the French and Nigerian teams. Totally unexpected and was a great surprise when we checked in since we had no idea! Both teams were great and when you ran into players at breakfast, in the lobby, in the elevators etc. they were always really nice and happy to take pics and sign autographs.
My tenth and last game Brazil v Chile as neutral. Fabulous day rounded off by meeting Cafu in the airport. Also met Martin Tyler (legendary British commentator now with Sky) and not only did he pose for a photo but he stopped and chatted to us for quite a while. Great tournament. Great memories.
Attending Brazil vs. Chile. 10 hours bus ride to Belo from Brasilia, and 10 hours back. They said I was crazy, but all worth it in the end for this:
The views, the engineering, the feeling of flying, the hope that maybe the government haven't forgotten the poor. So many things. In fact it was so good we're gonna do it again this afternoon. This time in the sunshine.
I went to 10 matches (including the first match and 2 semi-finals) but the best memory is a 8 kg carp that I fished with some friends. the biggest fish I've ever fished . Other memory is being with my son in Mineirao's semi-final (although Brazil has lost the game). By the way, if you were in the stadium, try to find yourself here: http://uol.fotozoom.com.br
I would definetly have to say to be able to experience a World Cup with my 8 year old son. Its a trip we'll never forget. Even when our team lost a game, we were very happy just to be able to be there.
Having my jersey signed by Cafu. Unfortunately didn't meet him like the other poster. He was outside the Mineirao for the Brasil x Chile game at a big stand on the 2nd floor. Bunch of people throwing their jerseys up there and he'd sign and throw back. Getting to go into Iran's training camp in Sao Paulo seeing their players practice and meeting / taking a pic with Carlos Queiroz. But obviously seeing Brasil play for the first time in a WC. Luckily we won both times.
To be able to share the excitement of being at the final (#64) with two new friends who simply didn't have any other way to go this match - one of them didn't even know just a few hours before the match that she was going. They showered me with hundreds of "Thank you, thank you so much" and their deep gratitude made me feel so happy. They said I made their dream come true (which is over the top but I can understand why they felt like that). Same for #62 where I was able to take 4 new friends with me.
Yup, this was the ultimate for me...I was the lucky one to join @Leica and his wife for the Final match. At the time, it felt like a dream because I had almost given up hope and didn't expect to get a ticket last minute. The dream for me for this trip was to get a ticket to the Final and he made it happen, without even knowing who I was. Meeting people like him and attending the Final with BigSoccer members was just an amazing, unforgettable experience
Being in the Maracana when Chile eliminated Spain was incredible. It was a great match, kind of unbelievable, and the massive throngs of fans in red Chilean jerseys was awesome. The euphoria of the crowd was intense, and realizing about a third of the way through the match that we were watching the exit of the world champs made the experience surreal. It took days before I didn't wake up at night to Chilean football chants echoing up the hill from the crowds in Lapa. Another great evening was recovering from the gut-punch of Portugal's last-second goal in Manaus by having espetinhos and Brahmas at the little string of local bars near Arena Amazonia. Entire extended families were out enjoying the evening breeze and playing on the sidewalks together while fans from both teams, feeling dejected for very different reasons, came to them for food, a welcome drink, and some cheer. By late in the night when I had to return to the airport, smiles were finally breaking out all around. US fans realized we were probably still going through, while the Portuguese fans still felt they had a shred of hope. Most of us left those couple of obscure blocks in the Amazon with group photos involving people from three or more countries thousands of miles apart from each other all smiling together in a warm night. The smell of grilled meat in humid air will likely remind me of those moments for years to come.
These are all great moments, in what was such a good World Cup! Looking back at my own experiences it's hard to pick a single moment even: I got electrocuted in Porto Alegre after partying following the Socceroos loss to Netherlands, hugging a random stranger when Messi scored against Bosnia, the spine-tingling Brazil national anthem at the opening game, a massive crowd of Mexican supporters breaking out in song in Fortaleza... But if I had to pick one, it might be my brother, girlfriend and myself meeting the great Roberto Carlos after randomly sitting next to his table in a churrasco restaurant. This guy was AMAZING - he must have been approached by at least 20 people while I was sitting there, and he took pictures or signed autographs with every single one of them. A true ambassador for Brazil and a true gentleman. Oh man... What a world cup!!!!
The Brooks goal for the win against Ghana!!! I dont think i've ever yelled that loud in my life. Hugging and celebrating with alot of people from different ethnicities all in US jerseys, man those moments that soccer gives us, and the power of that goal was just inmense. The 1N1T theme really was fitting. His celebration was perfect to i felt so happy for him.
Suarez scoring the winning goal against England with the brace on was totally awesome. After the loss to Costa Rica I was really pessimistic about Uruguay's chances against England even with Suarez who was coming off the injury. Yet Suarez taking over the game with his two beautiful goals to me was the happiest I felt during the whole World Cup. Klose breaking the record against Brazil was a close second though as Klose was my favorite player growing up and it was awesome seeing him take the record. While obviously Germany added more goals later on the Klose goal IMO was the one that made it clear that Germany would go to the WC final which made it even more special to me.
The two Colombia goals against Uruguay. Pure class by James and Cuadrado. It looked like they were playing beach soccer.
Probably coming out of the subway for the Argentina-Bosnia game and seeing THE Maracana! The World Cup suddenly became real at that point. All those nights in the Rio fanfest and the Copacabana stretch with thousands of my closest friends... The Argentine fans in the stadium and in the fanfest. Those guys were the best. I'm still singing "Brasil decime que se siente..."