Editor’s Note: Passport Brazil is a series on what it’s like to be on the ground in Brazil during the World Cup.
Our day started with a 4 A.M. wake-up call and an early morning flight to Fortaleza. Luckily the plane we boarded was better than what I’m used to in the US and the seats actually reclined, and allowed for us all to catch a few more Z’s. When we arrived in Fortaleza we picked up the tickets for all our games at the FIFA booth in the airport and took a taxi to our hotel. At one point in the ride the cabbie locked the doors and said in Portuguese “there are lots of car jackings around here.” Perfect. Luckily we made it to our hotel in one piece and got the hotel to give us a fourth twin bed in our room. Our room was pretty small so there was more bed than floor space, but that suited us just fine.
We’d had a great time at the Fan Fest the day before so we decided to go check out Fortaleza’s take on the issue. Largely the same, Fortaleza upped the ante on Fan Zones by cutting the price of beer by $0.50 and placing the Fan Zone directly on the beach. We settled in to watch Mexico take down a win and luckily scored some free sunscreen as we had already begun to feel the heat.
After the game we made a trip to get some lunch and watch the Netherlands vs. Spain game at a local bar. As we exited the fan zone we noticed that someone had hung the Portuguese (lame), Seattle Sounders and US flag off a balcony some 20 stories up facing the fan zone. We couldn’t contain our excitement and started an “I Believe” chant aimed at the people partying on the balcony. To our delight we were joined by a young man in a Mexico jersey! Our CONCACAF amigos! Turns out he’s a dual citizen living in Connecticut. Dual citizenship eh? I hear that’s been working out for us lately.
Once at the bar, Elaine suggested we start making prop bets for beers and of course we weren’t going to complain. I knew there was a reason she was on this trip. Lucky for me, I guessed closest to the minute the goals would be scored 4 times and my prediction of a 3-2 game was the closest guess to the final score. Looks like I wasn’t going to be buying any more beers today.
We returned to the Fan Fest for the end of the game and celebrated with the impressive Dutch showing. Uruguay fans kept chanting the entire day and I couldn’t help but think “dude, just wait your turn bro.” We brought the ball back out and juggled with Germans and Brazilians on the beach and I must say I was a little header happy after that sweet Van Persie goal. We caught the first half of the Chile game but decided to head back after we all realized we were falling asleep at the proverbial wheel.
We made a short trek to snag some lost items for George, mainly deodorant (we were all thrilled) but were disappointed when we couldn’t find a small market to snag a few brews for our room. We had heard the dating app Tinder had become a thing in Brazil and amused ourselves ‘playing’ that for a while and then decided to give the night one more chance. We made our way back to the beach but the only spot in the area was at capacity and we couldn’t get in. That’s a thing here?
We made the walk home, dodging a few prostitutes and pot holes and found a place next to our hotel to grab a final brew and unwind. We ran into a few more Mexican fans (seriously, they’re everywhere) and an American fan and chatted before finally throwing in the towel. Armed with some party spot recommendations from some Tinder girls and tickets to the next day’s match between Costa Rica and Uruguay, we all decided it was a good night to get some rest. We’ve been incredibly stoked on this trip but we keep having the realization that we haven’t even gotten the chance to focus on the Americans’ first game against Ghana. Saying we can’t wait seems like an understatement.
Don’t forget to read pt. 1, pt. 2 and pt. 3 in our ongoing series Passport Brazil.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @TheCleavesiest. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
