‘Brazil!’ is the reaction I got from friends when I told them that I was going to witness the quarter-finals between Germany and France in the world’s largest stadium, Maracana in Rio de Janeiro Brazil.
As we touched down I knew the fun and fervour I was going to experience, since I had witnessed the 2010 Fifa World Cup final in Johannesburg in South Africa. For a person who was never a football fan, getting to witness the ecstatic experience of the World Cup, can’t be expressed in words.
I was looking forward to exploring Rio and not just attend the matches and while there was a strong sense of caution because of the crime rate, my experience was a mixed bag of emotions including people sleeping on the streets, poor Brazilians rummaging for food, rude tourists destroying and misusing property in public places as well as the fun at the Copacabana beach where the super giant screens projected live screenings of every match.
It was fun and frolic till the end but the beauty of the Fifa World Cup was the fact that people from all around the world were united, no caste or creed, just everyone enjoying the spirit of the game.
The arrangements for the World Cup were amazing, and while I read a lot about corruption and unemployment surrounding Brazil, I think it was a grand affair in terms of management. It was well organised and hopefully the Summer Olympics in 2016 will be as well planned.
While the country now prepares for the Olympics in two years, the poor still go around their daily regime, still rummaging for food and hoping for a better tomorrow.
