Nossa Copa - Our World Cup: Fans

"Esta fiesta, fiesta de las piernas que la juegan y los ojos que la miran, es mucho más que el gran negocio de los señores que la dirigen desde Suiza. El más popular de los deportes quiere servir al pueblo que lo practica. La violencia de la policía no podrá apagar ese fuego."

"The fiesta of soccer, a feast for the legs that play and the eyes that watch, is much more than a big business run by overlords from Switzerland. The most popular sport in the world wants to serve the people who embrace it. That is a fire police violence will never put out."

-Eduardo Galeano

Fan Fest, Salvador

Opening Match - Fan Fest in Salvador

Post match in the streets, Vila Madalena, São Paulo

Costa Rica vs Uruguay

Airport in Brasilia

Wee hours of the morning, Airport in Fortaleza

Post match street party in Vila Madalena, São Paulo

Nossa Copa - Our World Cup: No Plan B

We happened to fly from Brasília to São Paulo on a day when Brasil was playing. Even though we arrived 2 hours before matc time, I had a feeling that we might have a difficult time getting ourselves into the city from the airport. We stood in an overcrowded taxi line for about an hour and 45 minutes before finally getting into a taxi. We were trying to catch the match on television and even though we missed the first half, we could hear the game echoing from the streets as we drove. Everything closes here when the national team plays. Many businesses will shut down for the entire day. You will be hard pressed to buy milk on a day when Brasil is on the pitch.

Neighborhood supermarket schedule

"You kind of can't choose not to participate in the World Cup.  Everything that is not a bar is closed. Everyone is roasting dead animals and getting drunk.  There really is no Plan B for Brasilians who are not into futebol.  Even Christmas has a Plan B, for Atheists, Jews and disenchanted Christians.  The World Cup has no Plan B."

Alissa, São Paulo

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Nossa Copa - Our World Cup: "Anonymous" and Alfredo

"The World Cup? Yes, it's great for Brasil! It's great because in two weeks we will lose, then the protests will start up again. We'll break things and then vote Dilma out...."

"Anonymous", São Paulo

"The World Cup? Ok, how about the hospitals here do not have adequate resources. The land here is very good, but the people have gone bad. Everyone's like a thief...."

Alfredo, São Paulo

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Uruguay vs Costa Rica

It must have been at least 2 miles from the stadium when the fan bus rolled to its final stop. We set out on foot towards the direction of Fortaleza's Arena Castelão. It what was an odd sort of pilgrimage with thousands of other fans, a pilgrimage loosely accompanied by a military police escort and sporadic forro bands. I found out later after the match that the fan bus drop points had been previously orchestrated with the municipal government during last year's Confederations Cup in attempts to avert a transportation strike.

On the pitch, no one expected Costa Rica (ranked 28th) to win against Uruguay (ranked 7th) this afternoon. Not only did they win, they won 3 -1. The best part about this brilliant "upset" today was that it further proves that sometimes you just have the better game and stats can be as relevant as rain coats in Qatar.

Costa Rica - their fans were pretty awesome as well!

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Opening Match

We watched the opening match from the fan fest in Salvador, which was set up a few blocks from where we we're staying. Here are a few pics from last night:

The crowds.....

There's quite a strong presence of military police almost everywhere you go. These guys were watching the crowd and the jumbo-tron in equal measure.....

  

 Neymar's penalty kick.....

...and of course, a trio electrico!! 

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