I have always loved soccer since I was little. I'm one of a few girls that got overly ecstatic when World Cup came up. The first World Cup that I tuned in was the 2002 one. It instantly got me hooked to soccer. Weirdly though, my interest in soccer is, you can say, seasonal. It occurred whenever big events such as World Cup or Euro came on. I occasionally see matches between games: Bundesliga, La Liga, or English league. But as time goes by, I never kept up anymore. That was when Kpop swept my life before it slowly ceased the past few years.
2014 FIFA World Cup
For some reason, I got overly excited for this year's World Cup. I always miss the euphoria of seeing not just a match, but a huge, meaningful one. It totally has a different vibe than English league. Weirdly enough, I was aware of this year's World Cup a few months away from when it occurred, thanks to my roommate, who kept up with soccer news more than I did. You could say that I almost kept up with every single match in this year's World Cup. I was stumbling when I first saw this year's very first match: Brazil vs Croatia. I haven't refreshed my knowledge on the players. Ronaldinho was no longer playing for sure. It felt so long ago. So many new players that I barely knew were in. Slowly, I started to keep up. That was when I got to know players such as Neymar Jr, James Rodriguez, and others.
This year's World Cup happened in the time range between morning to afternoon. I thank the fact that Brazil and LA only has a slight time difference. It's surely better than seeing the match at midnight or dawn, if I'm back in Indonesia. Along with the World Cup, summer depression also took over. It eventually led me to being rebellious at some points. Some hot games occurred when I was in the middle of the class that I managed my way to secretly see it in class, in various unexpected ways. When US vs Germany were playing, I was in a class whose situation almost made it impossible for me to see the game in an incognito way. It was a studio class so we always had critique session in every meeting.
My classmates, instructor, and I constantly moved around to give critique to other classmates' projects located in a different spot of the classroom. I really thanked the existence of ESPN app which allows me to see the match anywhere through my portable device. I know it was bad. I didn't encourage you guys to do this but I was so bored in class and for goodness sake, US vs Germany were playing. I couldn't help it. I kept the volume in mute and tried as best as I could to keep up with the class, contribute, while watching the match at the same time. The highlight was when Muller scored and I had to restrain my scream in the midst of classroom situation. I hope nobody noticed.
Anyway, the Final match was probably the most memorable for me. I went to the Buffalo Wild Wings with a friend and my new friend to see Argentina vs Germany. Of course, since we were talking about watching the ultimate, biggest match of the year in a bar, there were beers involved. Germany didn't score until the last few minutes when Mario Gotze scored. The entire bar erupted, partially out of disappointment because my friends and I - who were clearly rooting for Germany - were outnumbered by dozens of Messi-Tshirt-worn, Argentina fans. Whenever any German player almost scored, the bar just erupted into "Awww" and "Noooo". When the game was over, it seemed like anyone barely wanted to see Germany celebrated so people in light-blue and white striped shirts just left.
I remembered walking out of Buffalo like, "So this is it. It's over. Nothing to look forward to from today onwards." When I said that, I looked back to the days when my friends and I constantly reminded each other of the upcoming match. I would also invite my friend to stay over at my place just so we could wake up early the next day to see the morning match.
Pasadena's Special Guest: Manchester United
Now, 2-3 weeks into post-World Cup, the euphoria was still in the air. I was surprised to hear that Manchester United was coming over to Pasadena for a match against LA Galaxy. It was not just at any place at Pasadena, but it was at the Rosebowl Stadium (less than a mile away from my school). I was bummed not being able to go since the match would take place at the time I would be having a class I couldn't avoid to skip.
However, my roommate said there was an open training session, where fans were free to spot their favorite players practicing. The session was even cheaper than the actual match, though LA Galaxy wouldn't obviously be there. So I decided to go to that session with a friend of mine. The training session took place a day before the actual match, in the afternoon where I actually had a class. I managed to get an early individual critique from my professor just so I could leave early for an "appointment".
The training session wasn't as hot as the match and the stadium was only half-filled, but I was happy to see some familiar faces that I used to see on the screen, particularly Keane, Rooney, and Mata. People cheered when anyone scored a goal even though it was just a practice. De Gea's saves were excellent too. It was overall great. The highlight was when the training session ended and everybody just pushed their way aggressively towards the players' entrances, where the players stopped for the journalists, VIPs, and fans. Other players had already disappeared but Rooney stayed. I managed to capture some pictures of his.
I was still bummed for not being able to go to the actual match. The idea of Manchester United slaughtered LA Galaxy just sounds insane. Some of my friends went there and they obviously had a great time. However, my disappointment ultimately paid off by a different team, and this is where the excitement reached its peak that very weekend.
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