The Cup Started Yesterday
In Devil's Advocate there is a scene, near the end of the movie, where Keanu Reeves leaves the hospital after his wife has killed herself, and the streets of Manhattan are empty. In the middle of the afternoon there is no one on the sidewalk, no cars on the road, no sign of human movement. That's what the streets of downtown Recife look like forty-five minutes before Brazil kicks off the World Cup.
A friend picked me up at three. We went past the giant (probably ten feet by eighteen) screen tv set up on the beach. Traffic was pretty heavy, as the last people to leave work at three were hurrying to someone's house or some bar to watch the game. All street level businesses were closed. Every bar and every restaurant we passed was packed. About ten minutes later we were in one of very few cars on the street. When we got into the neighborhood where we were going to watch the game, we were the only car on the road. The whole way, there were a few stragglers on the street -- about one pedestrian every three blocks, and a few people at some of the busstops, all dressed in yellow and green and hoping to get somewhere before the game started.
We stopped at a gas station on the way in order to buy a case of beer. The store was almost out of cold beer. Actually, it was out of cold beer. They had chilly beer, which was, of course, unacceptable in that form. My friend started talking about how Americans don't drink cold beer, they just like it a little bit chilly (which is better than most Brazilians, who for some reason think that Americans drink beer at room temperature -- because it's always so cold in the US). I tried to correct him, but some people just don't want to be corrected.
We arrived at the apartment (his friend's girlfriend's) only to put the beer in the freezer and then to be sent out again to buy ice. If possible, the streets were more deserted. My friend, who is a competent driver at the best of times, was speeding through winding roads, turning left from the right lane and right from the left lane. We arrived at the gas station, and it was packed. Everyone was buying whatever it was that they needed for the game, the two women working the cash registers were hurrying through every transaction, and in their haste dropping money, hitting incorrect keys, and generally taking more time than they would have had they not hurried.
On the return trip my friend was a man possessed. He didn't stop for a single red light, and yelled out the window at drivers who did. "Retarded whore's son whose wife cheats with farm animals, don't you know the game is about to start?!" is the family version. At one point he ran a red light as a bus was making a perfectly legal left turn into the road in front of us. He put his hand out the window, showing the bus driver his palm and yelled "You're very angry! You need to calm down!" The bus driver smiled and stopped the bus to let us pass. Nobody wants to be responsible for someone missing the beginning of the World Cup.
The firecrackers, lots of them, let us know that the game had started. As we got out of the car and went running to the building, people all over Brazil began screaming and yelling. Apparently we missed a good chance on goal in the early minutes. We ran up the stairs and into the apartment, dropping two bags of ice in the kitchen and sitting on the couch in front of the tv. And then everything turned sour.
Brazil was horrible. Ronaldão played the worst game of his life. At least, I hope that was as bad as he's ever been, because it would be difficult to play worse. He looked like he didn't even want to be on the field. Parreira has already declared that Ronaldo will start the next game, but don't be surprised if he has a face-saving "injury" in practice on Friday or Saturday. Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Kaká played well, but Ronaldão and Adriano played so badly in front that it was easy for the defense to pressure the man with the ball. Fortunately, Kaká doesn't waste chances, and his goal was enough to secure the win.
But nobody in Brasil feels good about the team right now. They comfort themselves byt saying things like "this will give them something to think about, something to motivate them," and "it's still early -- they have time to get better before they come up against better opposition." But I'm not optimistic. The first day was fun, but I think I'm probably going to be chronicling a national disappointment here.
A friend picked me up at three. We went past the giant (probably ten feet by eighteen) screen tv set up on the beach. Traffic was pretty heavy, as the last people to leave work at three were hurrying to someone's house or some bar to watch the game. All street level businesses were closed. Every bar and every restaurant we passed was packed. About ten minutes later we were in one of very few cars on the street. When we got into the neighborhood where we were going to watch the game, we were the only car on the road. The whole way, there were a few stragglers on the street -- about one pedestrian every three blocks, and a few people at some of the busstops, all dressed in yellow and green and hoping to get somewhere before the game started.
We stopped at a gas station on the way in order to buy a case of beer. The store was almost out of cold beer. Actually, it was out of cold beer. They had chilly beer, which was, of course, unacceptable in that form. My friend started talking about how Americans don't drink cold beer, they just like it a little bit chilly (which is better than most Brazilians, who for some reason think that Americans drink beer at room temperature -- because it's always so cold in the US). I tried to correct him, but some people just don't want to be corrected.
We arrived at the apartment (his friend's girlfriend's) only to put the beer in the freezer and then to be sent out again to buy ice. If possible, the streets were more deserted. My friend, who is a competent driver at the best of times, was speeding through winding roads, turning left from the right lane and right from the left lane. We arrived at the gas station, and it was packed. Everyone was buying whatever it was that they needed for the game, the two women working the cash registers were hurrying through every transaction, and in their haste dropping money, hitting incorrect keys, and generally taking more time than they would have had they not hurried.
On the return trip my friend was a man possessed. He didn't stop for a single red light, and yelled out the window at drivers who did. "Retarded whore's son whose wife cheats with farm animals, don't you know the game is about to start?!" is the family version. At one point he ran a red light as a bus was making a perfectly legal left turn into the road in front of us. He put his hand out the window, showing the bus driver his palm and yelled "You're very angry! You need to calm down!" The bus driver smiled and stopped the bus to let us pass. Nobody wants to be responsible for someone missing the beginning of the World Cup.
The firecrackers, lots of them, let us know that the game had started. As we got out of the car and went running to the building, people all over Brazil began screaming and yelling. Apparently we missed a good chance on goal in the early minutes. We ran up the stairs and into the apartment, dropping two bags of ice in the kitchen and sitting on the couch in front of the tv. And then everything turned sour.
Brazil was horrible. Ronaldão played the worst game of his life. At least, I hope that was as bad as he's ever been, because it would be difficult to play worse. He looked like he didn't even want to be on the field. Parreira has already declared that Ronaldo will start the next game, but don't be surprised if he has a face-saving "injury" in practice on Friday or Saturday. Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Kaká played well, but Ronaldão and Adriano played so badly in front that it was easy for the defense to pressure the man with the ball. Fortunately, Kaká doesn't waste chances, and his goal was enough to secure the win.
But nobody in Brasil feels good about the team right now. They comfort themselves byt saying things like "this will give them something to think about, something to motivate them," and "it's still early -- they have time to get better before they come up against better opposition." But I'm not optimistic. The first day was fun, but I think I'm probably going to be chronicling a national disappointment here.
posted by Venha Futuro at 12:42 PM
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