World Cup Fever

Gabe is telling Jacob who he thinks will win the next match

Have you caught World Cup fever yet? Gabe and I have. I printed out a list of matches and highlighted the ones that were must see TV. Don’t worry. I did not choose all 104 games. I still have to work and sleep.

Not only am I watching a lot of World Cup soccer, I actually got to attend a match in person. On Monday June 15th, I was among the nearly 70,000 fans that packed Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta and got to witness one of the biggest shock results in World Cup history. Cape Verde, a small island nation off the West coast of Africa with a population of about 500,000 people, held mighty Spain (50 million people) to a scoreless draw. To put that in perspective, Spain was one of the favorites to win the World Cup. Cape Verde was making their tournament debut. For the non-soccer fans out there, it’s the equivalent of Gardner-Webb beating Duke in college basketball. It was a big deal.

Gabe showing of his summer body

Americans love an underdog story and with each passing moment as a draw became more and more plausible, the stadium got louder and louder, reaching levels of over 100 decibels at times. That’s the equivalent of a jackhammer or factory machinery which doctors warn can damage your hearing. It was worth it. As a sports fan and journalist, I’ve literally attended thousands of events and this match ranks right up there with one of the best.

The only downside with my trip to the World Cup was that it was too short. After four years of planning and saving, it was over so quickly. When I started putting the pieces together back in 2022, this was going to be my dream vacation. Spend a week in a city I have never been before, not have to worry about reporting on the games, then on the days when there were no games, go explore the city and sample the cuisine.

That didn’t happen. What was supposed to be my dream vacation slowly got whittled down over the course of four years to a 24-hour visit to Atlanta, a place I have been many times. Everything was also on such a time crunch, I did not have that much time to slow down and truly soak in the full experience. So among the thrill of a World Cup, there was a measure of disappointment of what could have been, but wasn’t.

My World Cup experience mirrors what life is like with a disability. We work just as hard, if not harder, than anyone else to accomplish something and the results are minuscule in comparison. I can only speak to Cerebral Palsy, but studies show that it takes 3 to 5 times more energy to accomplish common tasks than it does a “normal” person. There always seems to be extra roadblocks and hurdles in the way.

Jacob and about 70,000 other people waiting for the match to start

Finding World Cup tickets are hard for anyone. Finding accessible World Cup tickets were nearly impossible. The same goes for hotel rooms. Finding an accessible room with a roll-in shower is always a challenge.

I won’t lie. I became angry and frustrated at these roadblocks and others, especially considering the amount of work I had put in to overcome them just for one day in Atlanta. I got mad sitting in the hotel lobby listening to other fans talking about going to all three games in the city and the rest of their plans for the week. That should have been me I thought. I felt sorry for myself for a few moments even though I tried not to. We are all human after all.

I put those feelings aside and truly had a wonderful, all be it short, experience. Those feelings that I’m missing out come back though when I see a match on TV because the World Cup is most likely not coming back to the USA for another 40 years. This was my only opportunity and I could not take full advantage.

Gabe helps me deal with those feelings with plenty of hugs, kisses and other forms of emotional support. Anytime I think about what might have been, Gabe helps to shift my focus to what is. I am one of the relatively few people around the world that got to go to the World Cup and I have a Chesapeake Bay Retriever to come home to. Not many people can say that. When you look at it that way, it’s impossible to stay angry or disappointed.