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: Rivalries

I noticed during the Uruguay - Costa Rica match that almost all of the Brasilians in the stadium were passionately rooting for Costa Rica. "Why is everyone rooting for Costa Rica?" was a question that I posed to several surrounding fans. "Because they're playing Uruguay," was the common response. "Uruguay is close to Argentina, plus they beat us once...." was the rest of the response. It's true that Uruguay is close to Argentina, but the match that they're referring to took place in the final group stage at Maracana stadium in 1950.

"Wouldn't it be great to have a final in this World Cup with two South American teams?" I asked Luis, a friend we met up with in Brasília. The pupils in his eyes turned to black stone as looked at me sideways, like I was seriously ill. "Nooo, nooo...." he said, shaking his head and physically backing away from me. "Imagine a final with Brasil and Argentina. If Argentina were to win...and on Brasilian soil. That. Would. Be. Tragic. That would be an absolute tragedy."

Luis, Brasília

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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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