The Indy Staff reports on their FIFA experiences from around the worldBy THE HARVARD INDEPENDENT September 2, 2010

‘Yo soy Espanol, Espanol, Espanol!’: The World Cup from Spain

“GOOOAAAL!” The cheer reverberated through every corner of the country when Andres Iniesta instantaneously became a Spanish legend as he gave Spain the lead in the World Cup Final Match. I had never seen anything like it. It was not simply that every person in Spain supported this team but rather the extent that every Spaniard cared if Iniesta’s shot went in the goal. It was as if a Spanish loss would amount to a personal betrayal for every Spanish citizen.

When I asked an 11 year-old girl (my host’s grand-daughter) if she was going to watch the match that night, she recoiled as if the question had personally wounded her. she quickly replied that this match was “sacred” and of course she would be watching it. as if to prove her devotion to the Spanish Team, she listed off every player and their number.

In the United States, there does not seem to be a unifying sporting event like the World Cup. During the World Cup, few Americans watched all of the games that the United States played and few, if any, would have called the game ‘sacred.’ and it’s not only because Americans don’t like soccer. even this past year as America made it to the Winter Olympic Hockey Final against our beastly northern neighbors (just kidding Canadians!), only 27.6 million people watched the game in a country of over 300 million people. even my roommates weren’t that interested and preferred to do their homework while I screamed and hollered at the television (whether that was out of patriotism or sheer nerdiness is up for debate).

Is it simply that America is too diverse to find a uniting sporting event? in Spain, two parts of the country have been trying, violently at times, to secede from Spain and yet I saw as many fans in those provinces as in every other part of the country. Is it simply a lack of humility? as Americans we have begun not just to hope but expect most of our athletes to dominate on the World Stage. We have been spoiled to the point where a sporting event cannot create that type of unified fervor.  The irony is that American teams must become worse in order for Americans to become unified behind them.

A Pause in the Business of Governing: The World Cup from Washington, D.C.

In my World Cup watching experience from suburban Philadelphia, few people cared enough to don soccer jerseys and wave American flags. The World Cup was just another TV show – fun to have on in the background, a good excuse to have a summer party. People might talk about the USA games, but those were few, since we never advanced very far. People only chattered the last World Cup after Zidane headbutted someone – that was cool.

Watching the World Cup in Washington, D.C. was different. Perhaps in any major city you could find the bars packed, the people singing the national anthem together. in Dupont Circle in D.C., giant screens were set up outside. People stood outside in, yes, soccer jerseys and various country flags in the 100 degree heat (with humidity) to watch the USA vs England game. Someone even braved the heat in a revolutionary war costume, complete with soccer jersey.

In my internship office, people would turn the cubicle TVs, usually on C-SPAN or CNN, MSNBC or Fox, to the World Cup – and they continued doing so even after we lost to Ghana. in short, people in D.C. cared. I don’t know if it was because there were so many young people over the summer, if it was because D.C. is a major city, or just that, being the nation’s capital and a political town, it cared about what happened on the world stage – or world pitch. regardless, it was refreshing to see Americans actually care about an international sporting event.

‘Eu sou brasileiro, com muitoorgulho, com muito amor!’: The World Cup from BrazilBY PATRICIA FLORESCU

This summer I did thesis research in Sao Paulo, (strategically) during the World Cup. I don’t usually watch soccer, but in Brazil it was hard to remain detached from the overwhelming general euphoria. During the five games played by the Brazilian team, city life came to a standstill: final exams for college students were automatically rescheduled, some employees got the day off from work, and everyone, young and old, was wearing the national colors with great pride.

All the shops and restaurants were lavishly decorated with yellow-green banners, flags and, of course, color-coordinated vuvuzelas. The loud noise of fire-crackers was accompanied by profuse swearing targeted at the opposing team. I watched most of the games in my hostel, enjoying the traditional churrasco (Brazilian BBQ), beer, and caipirinhas (cocktail made with sugarcane alcohol, sugar and lime) with other gringos from all over the world.

Strangers in a Strange land: The World Cup from the West Bank

I watched the World Cup finals in the community center of a tiny village in the West Bank, in a room where the air was blue-gray with hookah and cigarette smoke. I didn’t know much about soccer beyond the side that scores more goals wins, and I couldn’t understand a single word of the Arabic commentary, but I didn’t need to; all I had to do was watch the reactions of the people around me.

We had one Spaniard in our group, and nearly all the Palestinians were rooting for Spain, while the three Germans with us were cheering for the Netherlands because Spain had knocked Germany out in the previous round. A shriek followed by a sigh meant that the Dutch had nearly scored; a roar meant that Spain nearly had; and while it all went on, we sat, drank tiny cups of enormously strong coffee, and puffed away on sweet-smelling hookahs.

You know, of course, the final result; the only thing that remains to be said is that, the next day, “Viva Espana” was playing on the radio, and for the remainder of our time together, everyone we met congratulated our resident Spaniard with gleeful warmth.

<a href="http://www.harvardindependent.com/?p=911tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.harvardindependent.com/?p=911Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:17:29 GMT 00:00″>The 2010 FIFA World Cup