Last week I had a chance to attend a World Cup match in Houston, Texas. Why Houston? Unlike in 1994, Detroit never even came close to becoming a venue for the world’s biggest sporting event. Even Chicago decided not to participate due to FIFA’s onerous demands. That left the Great Lakes region utterly devoid of any connection to the tournament.
So what’s a fanatic to do? I entered the lotteries, both the FIFA lottery and the US Soccer lottery. Of all the games I selected, only one came through: June 23 in Houston. At least one of the pre-tournament favorites was involved. The game turned out to be Portugal versus Uzbekistan. On paper and in reality, it was as one-sided as it sounds. The Portuguese cruised to an easy 5-0 win with legendary forward Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice to remind the world that he can still finish as well as any forward on the planet.
The experience of traveling and attending a World Cup game is like no other. Leaving Detroit and flying to Houston might as well have been like leaving the country for another country that was serving as a host. A significant percentage of the people on my flight spent the more than two hours in the air watching Lionel Messi and Argentina defeat Algeria. Upon deplaning, the first signs of World Cup fever made themselves obvious. Houston’s George Bush International Airport had FIFA decorations and World Cup volunteers everywhere. They had signage, billboards, merchandise, and videos all depicting the World Cup. Even the rental car offices had the FIFA logo everywhere.
Even more than all the FIFA promotional items, we saw shirts from a variety of countries: France, Argentina, Mexico, the USA, and many more national teams and club teams, even MLS team shirts. We stayed well outside downtown, near the Johnson Space Center and saw many Portugal shirts at the hotel.
Game day was an experience like no other. I had my son with me for his first World Cup. We left for the noon kickoff around 8:00 am and the crowd was already assembling at the Houston Stadium by 9:00. The Houston Stadium is normally the home of the NFL’s Houston Texans. However, FIFA has assumed such control of the stadium at its surrounding area that there was no evidence at all of its affiliation with American football. From the pristine playing surface to the incredible video screens, the entire stadium has been converted.
FIFA has certainly gone for the spectacular for this World Cup. Massive flags covering nearly half the field, a FIFA decal for the center circle, dozens of volunteers to assemble and disassemble the pregame presentation like clockwork so that each game kicks off on time, and strictly enforced sponsorships make up the gameday experience. Sponsor beer, sponsor pop, branded souvenirs, coverups of stadium branding that don’t align with FIFA. It all focused the attendees on one thing: FIFA’s World Cup.
Access and egress to the stadium ran smoothly. We parked at a tram stop and used public transport, which was far easier than trying to use the $150 per place parking at the stadium. For $50, we parked and rode the tram with hundreds of other supporters. While Portugal’s fans outnumbered those of Uzbekistan by nearly 10 to 1, the Uzbeks made themselves heard both before and during the game. They were a lively bunch in white with blue and green trim, in contrast to Portugal’s red clad fans. Most of Portugal’s fans wore their Cristiano Ronaldo jerseys with number 7 on the back. They roared when their hero touched the ball, had his face on the video screen, and most emphatically when he scored both his goals.
Portugal certainly had things their own way on the field and in the stadium, but the Uzbeks did make one major statement in the parking lot. One of their own must have had the capital to purchase a Cyber-Truck and the artistic ability to repaint in the national colors of white, blue, and green. It was a brilliant and unique statement of national pride and one of the last sights we saw as we left on the tram.
Visiting the Johnson Space Center the next day hardly offered any respite from the World Cup. With Mexico scheduled to play later that evening, there were green shirts everywhere. We also saw plenty of vehicle plates from Mexican states, showing the appeal of the educational side of visiting a World Cup host city. Like every other place we saw during our short trip, it wasn’t just Mexico being represented. Club and country jerseys from all over the world showed that the sport has taken over the host cities.
Returning to Detroit felt like a let down from all the excitement in Houston. There are plenty of watch parties around here, but there is nothing like being a host city. The vibe is completely different. We had it in 1994. It was fantastic. The people of Houston and the other venues around North America have it now. As the World Cup moves from the group stage to the elimination rounds, the tension will grow, sweeping from west to east. The excitement in the cities where there will be more games at the late stages will still build towards the crescendo of the final on July 19 in New Jersey. In Detroit, we will watch from afar while remembering what we had thirty-two years ago and perhaps trying to somehow be a part of it from a distance.
