The streets were alive with music and revelry. Brazilian supporters were dressed in their national colors of yellow and green, joyously pounding their samba drums. Scottish kilts and bagpipes were just as prevalent. The beer was flowing, and so was national pride.
The scene was France, but you never would have known it. It was the night before the Brazil–Scotland contest opened the 1998 World Cup and the atmosphere was electric.
As the night progressed, the Brazilians shook all they had in kilts and tried to summon up enough air to make bagpipes sing. Meanwhile, Scottish fans attempted to show their samba rhythm while sharing bottles of bubbly stuff with their newfound friends from thousands of miles away.
The two football-crazed nations with reputations as exquisite partiers united in their celebration of the sport and their cultures.
During that World Cup, I spent three weeks immersed in French food, French stadiums and the French countryside. The passion for the game was evident on every street corner and in every shop.
Language was not a barrier to fun. Culture was not a hindrance to the forming of new friendships. Soccer brought people together and provided a stage to celebrate life.
It was the World Cup, a 32-nation battle for soccer supremacy. But even more so, it was ‘The Big Party.’
There is nothing like ‘The Big Party.’ Every four years, the Cup marks a time for national colors, national pride and national partying. For the 30 days of the tournament, national economies and vacation schedules are placed in the hands of the 23 players representing the colors of their home country.
It is a 24-hour-a-day celebration. The Super Bowl celebration doesn’t compare. The Olympics represent national accomplishments, but don’t have the national impact of the Cup. No other sport involves the passion of the World Cup. It is truly a world-wide party, an all-encompassing culmination of four years of qualification. Four years of ups and downs. Four years of defeats, victories, and hair-pulling draws. Four years of praying, hoping, cheers and tears.
‘The Big Party’ is not limited to the stadiums of the host country. It is an ongoing celebration in the streets winding around the game venue, in pubs, in homes and in national streets and squares across the globe.
The world’s biggest party not only brings nations together, but it also unites people. People of different cultures, different beliefs and different languages come together to rejoice and share in the beauty of the game.
In 1994, Northern California was host to World Cup games, and Los Gatos was home to the Samba Boys of Brazil. For three weeks, Los Gatos became Brazil. At night, the streets were celebrations of Brazilian culture. The city was transformed and the citizenry engaged.
Korea and Japan jointly hosted the 2002 World Cup – the first-ever shared hosting. It was an amazing feat. Two previously-warring nations with political conflicts were united, through soccer, to provide the infrastructure for the world’s largest tournament. As a referee in this tournament, I was amazed at the passion exhibited by two relatively unknown soccer countries.
A frequent picture was the large city squares overcrowded with fans who could not get tickets to games. Korean cities had enormous big-screen televisions mounted in the squares. Koreans and visiting fans, with painted faces and official team jerseys, stood foot-to-foot and chin-to-chin for three hours to watch games – to watch their favorite team or player make World Cup history.
Soccer fan-fest areas like those in Korea extend the stadium party to the streets. They provide a dance floor for the ticket-less. Reports state that over 100,000 Mexican supporters traveled to support the Tri-color in Germany. With only 12,000 tickets allocated to the Mexican Futbol Federation for each of its team’s games, 88,000 sombrero-wearing diehards had to hit the fan-fests or the pubs to catch their boys in action.
But the heart of ‘The Big Party’ is the stadium. Here, the environment is overwhelming. The noise is deafening. The colors are blinding.
Seats are there to rest your legs – not to watch the game. Hard-core spectators spend the game dancing and singing. Seldom do the supporters sit. The Brazilians and Argentineans spend the 90-plus minutes of the game on a virtual dance floor. Samba drums and whistles provide the music while the movement of the ball rallies the dance step.
Chants of “ole” and “si se puede” (“you can do it”) echo off the stadium’s overhang causing ear-rattling noise. The referee’s whistle can’t be heard by the players, let alone in the stands.
Thousands of supporters sing in unison. They sing until . . . until their team is struck by an opposition goal. Suddenly, the stadium is silent. Silent until . . . until the team’s rhythm and energy on the field awakens the sleeping fans.
Fancy head gear and painted faces surround the field. Sections of the stadium are awash in the colors of the competing teams. It is easy to identify team affiliations. Some head gear is so large that the view of those watching the game from behind is obscured. But the hats are standard party gear and no one objects.
Drums and whistles are the instruments of the day. In the States, rally sticks and rally towels provide noise. These do not engage the soccer enthusiast. Drums and whistles provide the tone for the singing supporters. They are the orchestra while the ball is the conductor. As the ball goes, so goes the music.
The Cup is not only the world’s biggest sporting event, but it is also the stage for the world’s biggest party. A party that takes four years to prepare. A party that allows anyone to share in the festivities whether their team is participating or not. A party that gets bigger as the number of participants decreases. On July 9, ‘The Big Party’ will come to an end and we will have four years to recover.
