What the World Cup left behind

The World Cup was held this summer in Mexico, the United States and Canada. The final was played last Sunday, July 19th, where Spain was crowned champion, defeating Argentina with a score of 1-0. I watched the match on TV and Spain dominated ball possession for most of the game; the statistics don’t lie. I think they were fair winners and the score should have been wider. I won’t talk about the final itself — the halftime show was horrible, in my opinion.

Some matches were played in Mexico City, Monterrey and my beautiful Guadalajara. I had the opportunity to go to one of those matches in the playoff stage - New Caledonia vs. Jamaica. I never expected the atmosphere inside the stadium to be that good, but it was really nice; even though those teams aren’t too well-known, the fans somehow filled the Guadalajara stadium. And that energy and support were reflected in all the matches played in Mexico.

A great move by state governments was enabling public spaces for fan fest. These spots were the ideal atmosphere for a lot of people who didn’t get game tickets (too expensive by the way). I noted there were many foreigners from different countries celebrating, suffering and enjoying this experience.

Some celebrations were at the edge of what’s legal and other ones went out of control. In the first games, fan fest’s organization was overwhelmed by the amount of people who showed up, and more when Mexico team played, and it went worse when the team won those matches; the organization disappeared.

It was everything: chants, celebrations, beers, activities, costumes, people throwing other people into the air, towers made of beer cups, happiness, anger, misunderstandings, discussions, fights, winners and losers. A complete experience.

The three Mexico cities were the best in terms of hospitality, support and football atmosphere. Sadly, only 13 football matches were played of 104 (5 in Mexico City, 4 in Monterrey and 4 in Guadalajara), and even under those conditions the people responded euphorically like a big party. This gives me a small hope that Mexico could host another World Cup, like in 1970 or 1986.

Let’s talk about Mexico team. I think this time (since France, 1998) has been the biggest illusion to see this team in quarterfinals (I’ve never seen it before) and many people felt the same way. As a result, the popular phrase: “y si sí?” was created.

Unfortunately, we didn’t reach that next phase and we lost against England team (who went on to win the bronze medal) in one of the best matches of the tournament. Honestly, it hurt a lot to see that defeat.

Even so, I really enjoyed watching many matches. Although many times all good things must come to an end and probably I won’t see top players playing in other World Cup (2030). For example Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Modric, Dzeko, Salah, De Bruyne, Courtois, Manuel Neuer, Guillermo Ochoa, Neymar, Casemiro, Ngolo Kanté and many others will retire and that list could grow even further.

Last thing, I wanna say that it has been one of the best World Cups that I’ve lived, maybe the favorite one because it was held in my country and for getting to attend. I hope the next will be better and getting to watch one match in the stadium, which would involve crossing the Atlantic ocean (Spain, Portugal and Morocco). I trust in “y si sí?” will come true.