When Pittsburg State U. senior Andy Gonzalez talks to his family in Paraguay, the conversations lately have turned to one topic: the World Cup.
For Andy and many other international students, the World Cup is more than just a soccer match.
“Soccer is everything,” Gonzalez said. “In Paraguay soccer is the only sport that matters. By the time the World Cup comes, the whole country is freaking out. It’s like everything is put on hold.”
It’s that time again, when billions of fans across the world turn their attention away from humdrum political and economic affairs and toward more serious business: how their teams will fare in the global soccer arena.
Ivan Hunnicutt, international student from Brazil, says the World Cup provides a distraction from the problems in his home country.
“In Brazil the World Cup means that time when everybody forgets about their problems and they just kind of get together and hope Brazil is going to put on a huge show for the entire world,” Hunnicutt said. “Brazil is not a great country economically, but when the World Cup comes they just forget about those problems.”
Brazil won its first two matches and will play again June 25. Hunnicutt says the soccer matches are taken so seriously in his country that a loss can lead to riots.
And no wonder; for many, this is more than just a game. For example, Segun Oluwafemi, international student from Nigeria, says the World Cup is the event he and his countrymen have been looking forward to the past four years.
“There’s a certain kind of climate when a big soccer tournament is coming up,” Oluwafemi said. “You can almost feel it in the air. Everybody is talking about it.”
The Nigerian soccer team has no wins, one draw and two losses.
“It is everything for almost everybody at home,” Oluwafemi said.
Min Tae Kim, international student from South Korea, says people in his country fill the streets to cheer on their team.
“Can you believe that more than 7 million people wearing red T-shirts cheered the Korean team on the streets in 2002?” Kim asked. “You can still watch that in this World Cup.”
The South Korean team has one win, one draw and one loss and will play its next match June 26.
Kim says it would be nice to cheer in the streets alongside fellow fans.
“I want to join the cheering people in Korea,” Kim said. “People go crazy, and it’s fun to celebrate our goals with so many people around me, some you’ve never met before.”
Many countries take soccer much more seriously than in the United States. However, not every American feels that way.
Jon Eastman, Pitt State junior, is so excited about the World Cup that he organized a watch party in the Overman Student Center for the USA-Slovenia matchup Friday, June 18.
Although turnout for the watch party was low, Eastman says the World Cup is important to the United States. Unlike other world championships such as the World Series, he says, the World Cup is significant because it involves teams from outside the United States.
“This is a real opportunity for us to face off against other international teams at a venue outside the Olympics,” Eastman said. “I think it’s more a world championship than what we normally call a world championship.”
In fact, the U.S. team has done surprisingly well so far, having beaten the Algeria team 1-0 on Wednesday in the Group C finale, allowing the U.S. to reach the second round at the World Cup.
Among PSU’s international students, though, the World Cup has caused some of them, such as Hunnicutt, to become homesick.
“Back home you get to see the streets all painted, everybody together, family together watching the game,” Hunnicutt said. “Here I’m just at work trying to watch the game or just listening about it in the news.”
Gonzalez says he does not want to predict that Paraguay will win for fear that he might jinx his country’s chances. Paraguay currently has one win, one draw and no losses. It will play its next match June 24.
Gonzalez, like many other fans, is hoping for a victory.
“We have been doing really well, this might be our year,” he said.