The sender of the email was FIFA, and it was about approving or not, my World Cup accreditation application. They had said they would let us know “after February 28”, so for thirteen days I would check my email every morning with my heart beating considerably faster than normal. That day, THE email had finally appeared…
Honestly, it took me some seconds to find the guts to click on it, and see if what I had gotten from FIFA was a sending me over the moon “yes” or a devastating “no”. For months I had lived with the hope of getting a “yes”. I thought, by clicking on the email, I could read fantastic news. Or, not.
By NOT clicking on the email, what I did was prolong my “hoping” period, and hoping, not knowing for sure, no matter how… torturing it may be, it’s still better than reading a “no”, and having your dream-bubble burst in a mini-second… The heck with it, the email was there for me to read, so I did.
One of the weak points of sharing a story, is, I reckon, that it’s phenomenally challenging, if not impossible, to make your listener/reader fully grasp the… magnitude of a moment, in this case, of a(n anything but) simple “approved”. I guess if I were a spectacular story-teller I could put you in my shoes and give you an “ahaaa… THAT’s why” idea about what was SO special about that “approved” that made me shed a tear or three, out of happiness (as much as out of relief). Being the just above average story-teller that I am, and writing these lines in a language which is not my native one, all I can write to describe the effect that that “approved” had on me, is the –easy/lazy way out- cliché “there are no words…”
Proud of my silly “centuries”
Same night, I went to watch Deportivo Cali host Lanús, for the Copa Libertadores group phase. A few days ago, now, late August, as I was going through the stats of the football games I have watched abroad, I realized that 13 March 2014 was special for a second reason, not only because I had been given accreditation for the World Cup. Cali’s “Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero”, where local Deportivo hosted Lanús in a very entertaining game, was the 100th stadium outside of Greece where I saw a football match(!). Game number 100 had been Spain-Italy, Euro 2012’s final. Stadium number 100 was “Guerrero”, and not just any day, but the day FIFA made me… shed a few tears out of happiness. What were the chances?...
Kick-off at “Pascual Guerrero”, a few hours after some of the greatest news I have ever received
Sure, it wasn’t my 100th million of euros deposited to my bank account, it wasn’t the 100th and last payment of a home bank loan that meant a house was finally mine, paid for in total, it wasn’t… a “she”, the 100th woman I slept with (wishful thinking…), but in my little silly world where travel and football have almost always taken central stage, this sort of “100s” are silly little sources of, may I say without earning your mocking, “pride” (not that I would mind the other “100s” mentioned in this paragraph –wishful thinking, again).
América de Cali, the team that took “awful” to whole new levels…
In a matter of 48 hours I enjoyed TWO Deportivo Cali home games (check the list at the bottom), they were kind enough to give me media accreditation (which is always nice) for both, they played well in both games, their fans created a nice atmosphere, everything was great, really, everything was there for me to grow a certain liking in Deportivo, buuut… weirdly enough, if someone asked me today which is my favorite Cali team (as if anyone would ask me… Just trying to make a point here), I would go for Deportivo’s bitter city rival, América de Cali. I… blame the (not THAT) hidden masochist in me…
América de Cali, the team (well, the fans) that earned my respect
I saw América against another Cali team, Depor FC, a game for the second category of Colombia. The gods of football are my witnesses, América were awful that day. AWFUL. So awful that “awful” is a compliment for the way they played that day. So awful that if I were a father watching the game along with my little boy/girl, I would cover his/her eyes so as to protect their retina from a permanent damage. BUT, that “they should be banned from playing football EVER again” team, playing in the SECOND category, was passionately supported by MORE fans than what Deportivo had managed to attract to the same stadium just a few days ago in a big Libertadores game(!!).
Respect. Thousands of América de Cali masochists, eeeeh… I meant… fans, supporting one of the worst group of players I have ever tortured myself watching
If you’re a football fan, you know why this is THAT impressive. If you’re not a football fan, let me just say, A) why the heck are you reading this post?, B) it’s easy to support a team when everything goes well, but it takes some serious-SERIOUS dedication and love to support your team if it’s doing pathetic(ally). Awful América sold more tickets for a lousy B category game, than what well-performing Deportivo sold for a prestigious Copa Libertadores match, AND, America’s proud fans, who are used to seeing their team among not just Colombia’s, but –occasionally- among South America’s top teams, swallowed their pride and were also louder than those of Deportivo, despite the eye-aching “spectacle” their team offered. Hell… That deserved my respect.
A few days later I crossed the border with Ecuador, and by the time I moved on to Peru I had watched several more games. I’m trying to keep the posts as “rationally long as possible”, so… slight change of plans, my February-May football rambling won’t be completed today, in three parts, but tomorrow, in four (or so I say…).
No, I wasn’t angry at anyone when I took this photo (Pasto, late March). Believe it or not, this is how I usually “smile” in photos. Charming (cough/cough/COUGH), I know
(Games watched between March 13 and 23:
Deportivo Cali-Lanús 2-1, Cali, Colombia, 2014, March 13
Deportivo Cali-Patriotas Boyacá 2-1, Cali, Colombia, 2014, March 15
Depor FC-América de Cali 0-0, Cali, Colombia, 2014, March 17
Deportivo Pasto-Uniautónoma 4-0, Pasto, Colombia, 2014, March 23)
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