This may—probably—falls into the category of “Do as I say, not as I do.”
If you have not yet made it to one of the large outdoor World Cup viewing parties during a Mexico or United States game, make an effort to get out there.
I’m avoiding the crowds and the games for my own beef with FIFA, the World Cup’s governing body, but anyone who doesn’t have a problem with what they’ve done to the game and the tournament and asks where they should watch, I’d direct them to one of the outdoor watch parties.
Personally I’d go to one that is in a public venue and that is thoroughly, 100 percent free. None of those ticketed VIP, skip-the-line-quick-entry-for-a-buck-avoid-the-poor-sweaty-rabble places for me. The game has already been degraded by the corrosive touch of the millionaires and billionaires who own the spectacle and its performers, no need to contribute to its continued gentrification by paying for the illusion of elitism at a park or downtown. If you’re going to a watch party to be among people, then be among people.
A World Cup viewing party is intended to be a place where everyone can gather and cheer for a common cause, in this case for 11 representatives of a country to put a ball in a net. On the field is a collective effort to emerge with a victory, off the field and in the streets, or the park, is a collective effort to be a part of something larger.
That’s what you should find at an outdoor viewing party. Unlike bars and restaurants—and they do have their place during the World Cup—parks and city streets have the potential to accommodate hundreds if not thousands of people sharing the same emotions for 90 minutes.
Your side scores and hundreds of strangers, neighbors and friends around you screams and whoops and hollers. Hugs are shared and Daps are passed. A goal is scored against you and hundreds of strangers, neighbors and friends around you groan and slump and clasp their heads. Win, and you’re all winners. All 1,000 of you. Lose and all 1,000 of you have lost together.
For 90 or so minutes you can spend time with hundreds of others experiencing the highs and lows of the emotional spectrum. It’s something worth checking out.
