By: Katie Foglia
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| Group photo of Carl Fonticella, Kevin Noonan, Katie Foglia and Dr. Ashley Furrow taken before the U.S. vs. Ghana match in Natal, Brazil. |
São Paulo – I’ve always been
a dreamer. Feet on the ground, head in the clouds. So, it’s only natural that
I’ve had thoughts about this moment for most of my life. Expectations of what
it would look and smell and sound and taste like, and how it would make me
feel.
But, now that’s
it’s over, it seems like a snapshot. One still frame from 22 years worth of
memories, each one better than the last. It flashes for a few seconds, and then
it’s gone.
It seems simple
to replay it in your head, going over each step slowly and remembering more and
more as the days go by. Walking off of the bus, meandering through the crowd
with sweaty fingers clutching the ticket and always keeping one eye on the
destination. Eyes darting to every moving object, trying to see everything in
fear that if you blink, it will all be over.
After years of
thinking about it, watching it, playing it and even writing about it, I was
finally walking inside a World Cup stadium. Arena das Dunas in Natal, Brazil,
to be exact. I was going to watch the USMNT play Ghana, the team that knocked
them out of the Round of 16 four years ago.
I watched it. Four
years ago, I was 18 and had just graduated from high school. Now, I’m 22 years
old and just graduated from college. Four years is such an insignificant amount
of time in the long run, but for now, it is noteworthy.
One of the many
things I found in the boxes of my belongings after moving back home after
graduation was my travel journal. It’s seen better days. Ink marks on the cover,
napkins and papers with names of songs and addresses of cafes tucked inside
random pages and of course, my serious (read: hilarious) comments and recounts
of my adventures in Costa Rica, Mexico, The Dominican Republic, Ecuador and the
Galapagos Islands.
It was
interesting for me to read about my thoughts on the previous trips with family,
friends and strangers, living life and learning how to survive in new
surroundings (all skills that would come in handy in Brazil).
But one page of
my journal stood out among the rest. It was the second page of the book, blue
smudged ink, dated June 10, 2014. It was a list of things I want to do and
places I want to see in my lifetime. The first thing on the list: “Go to a
World Cup soccer game.”
Reading that
line a few days before departing for São Paulo sent chills down my spine. I’ve
written in that book a lot since, yes, but for some reason I have not read that
front page since I wrote it almost exactly four years ago.
These things
don’t just happen. I’m a strong believer in will power, hard work, humility and
luck. My being an intern for the U.S. Soccer Federation in Brazil for the 2014
World Cup was a combination of all of those things.
Walking into the
World Cup stadium and sitting in the blue seats next to the friends and family
of the players felt incredible. I’ve never been more proud to wear red, white
and blue than I was on that day. The Scripps contingent, Dr. Ashley Furrow,
Kevin Noonan, Carl Fonticella and I all were in awe of the inside of the
stadium.
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| Panoramic view of Estado das Dunas. |
We took a few
pictures together and could not believe we were actually there. It seems like
just yesterday that we were all sitting in conference chairs in Athens, Ohio,
talking about how excited we were to go to a game.
As the kickoff
time approached, I began to get antsy. I was looking around and hearing all of
the “U.S.A.” and “I believe that we will win” chants and my confidence level
began to boost.
After the guys marched
out in a single fine line, we sang (read: screamed) the National Anthem and
then it was officially game time. I’ve never jumped up and down, yelled and
high-fived strangers more in my life than when captain Clint Dempsey scored his
sensational goal less than a minute into the game. Our section erupted in a
roar and beer and belongings went flying into the air.
Eventually, the
cheering stopped and the crowd settled. There was a lot of time left. The whole
game changed from there. Dempsey scoring so quickly was not the plan. Now what
do we do? Now how are we suppose to feel? Is it too soon to get excited about
the possibility of actually winning this game?
I got so swept
up in my questions, but continued to try and pause and look around to soak it
all in. The stadium looked so new, and the different shades of the blue plastic
seats really popped out. There was a good mix of U.S., Ghana and Brazil fans in
the crowd. Yes, at all of the games, Brazil fans come, wear their yellow
jerseys and mix into the crowds.
When Ghana
scored, the West African fans screamed and erupted in cheers that filled the
stadium. The section we were in fell quiet. I began to remember how hot it was
and how I had been sweating most of the day. The air felt warm and the scent of
beer floated through the stadium. Again, my mind began to wonder.
The water I
bought felt warm on my lips, but quenched my thirst. I could feel my jaw
clenching and fingers tightening. The nerves in the U.S. crowd were palpable. The
game was tied, 1-1, with four minutes left. But, then, John Brooks headed the
ball into the net and gave the U.S. team the lead it needed.
Once again, we
all jumped up and went crazy in the crowd. We all knew that we just had to hold
that lead for four more minutes, and it would all be
over. Finally, the whistle blew and the win was official. The victory tasted
sweet, especially since Ghana had knocked the USMNT out of the 2006 and 2010
World Cups. This time the U.S. came out on top.
It all happened
so fast and I was sad to walk out of the stadium. Even though all I have is the
memory, I will always remember sharing that moment with Ashley, Carl and Kevin,
and I will never forget how being at the game and cheering on the U.S. made me
feel.
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| Photo of the group celebrating after the U.S. beat Ghana. |
The moment might
be over, but I will always have the memory. I wrote down all of my thoughts,
feelings and emotions after the game in my tattered travel journal. Just
another new page with random thoughts scribbled onto the pages in ink.
One day I will
look back and be able to read my thoughts on what it was like to go to my first
World Cup soccer game, and I will remember that the seats in the stadium were
different shades of blue, the smell of beer surrounded us, the taste of salty
sweat on my dry lips and the refreshing warm water. And, of course, I will
always remember how it made me feel excited, proud, nervous, happy, sad, scared
and most of all grateful.
Not everyone who
writes down in their journal that they would like to go to a World Cup soccer
match gets to actually go. I know I am one of the lucky ones. But I also know
that I will continue to keep dreaming and make sure that this won’t be my first
and only World Cup soccer experience. I will be back. It might not be in 2018,
but I will be back.
