I was in Brazil for the final game, everyone I met and spoke with was amazing. I can't say the same for the Argentinians that were in the stands behind us. A fight broke out. Luckily I filmed it all, including Germany's goal the crowds reaction. What I will say I hope Brazil is ready for the Olympics... traffic was a nightmare all 4 days we were there, worse than Los Angeles by far. Hopefully that subway gets up and running ahead of schedule. I wish I could have gone to some of the other games to experience parts of Brazil other than Rio.
The subway is running, from Ipanema all the way to the North zone, including the Maracanã stadium. The stretch between Ipanema and Barra da Tijuca is under construction. Traffic in Rio is not that bad. I was there for 9 days and had no problem whatsoever until the last day, when I had to go to the airport on a Friday late afternoon (rush hour), and there was a big accident in the main road that exits Rio (right when people are leaving town for the weekend) and it backed up everything. Fortunately I had plenty of time but a trip that takes 45 minutes took almost three hours, and it would have taken longer if not for the fact that my driver was very experienced and took back roads through the University to reach the Galeão airport. That was the worst traffic jam I've ever seen in Rio. That Friday was the one right before the final (I came back earlier since I didn't have tickets for the final anyway, and return flights were three times more expensive after the final) so you were probably there too and got the horrible traffic I'm talking about. So, it looks like it remained bad throughout the weekend, huh? It probably has to do with the thousands of Argentinians who came to town (some people say 150,000) driving all sorts of vehicles, especially old RVs and trailers. I've been to Rio several times and never had the kind of traffic problem I saw that Friday, so, I guess it was the special circumstance of having thousands of Argentinians "invading" the city (plus the big accident at Via Dutra), so, I expect that during the Olympics things won't be as bad (and by then, hopefully the subway line will be extended all the way to Barra da Tijuca).
I didn't the subway was up and running for parts. I know the locals were complaining. Our Hotel was past Ipanema and we dealt with it every time we left the hotel. Traffic on our area was horrible, 2 hours for less than 10 miles. I think the rain had a lot do with it. No accidents that we ran into, just snarling traffic worse than LA. We were there before most of the argentinians arrived. Most of them were great sports and had an exceptional amount of passion for their team. Not these guys though:
Found this article to be very interesting. What Russia 2018 can learn from Brazil 2014. The two countries are indeed comparable in many ways, and I think it will be fascinating to watch Russia prepare for the upcoming tournament. http://futbolgrad.com/world-cup-lessons-brazil-2014-mean-russia-2018/
I have been to quite a few World Cups and I expected a lot from this one. I was afraid my expectations might be too high! I was wrong! It was pretty f***** amazing!