FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

The Tickets
During one of our Saturday classes Professor Umashankar talked about getting Confederations Cup tickets for the games in Fortaleza. I have never been a huge soccer fan but for an international tournament the experience would be worth it. Stephanie, Seanise, and I talked about getting the tickets however they never got me the money so we weren't able to get tickets to the Brazil/Mexico game. In fact, we were so lazy we didn't get tickets to any of the games.

Once we arrived in Fortaleza, I decided I really wanted to go. Unfortunately the Brazil/Mexico game was sold out before we even left the States however both the Spain/Nigeria and Semi-Final games still had tickets. One day after class I decided I was going to give them an ultimatum - they could buy them now with me or I was going to buy in with a different group of students. I had to do all of the booking, ticket collection, and planning of how we were going to get to and from the stadium safely. We finally ordered tickets for the semifinal game with hopes Brazil would take second in their group and Spain would take first in theirs.

While riding the bus to school the morning after I purchased them, Stephanie was talking to Umashankar about how excited she was to go to the game. Professor Umashankar then asked who purchased the tickets. I was volunteered to purchased the professors for the second session tickets to the Spain/Nigeria game. I had to quickly call my parents in hopes they would be okay with putting in on their Visa or Mastercard because that is the only payment cards FIFA accepts. I had to tell my parents "it would be a great opportunity for me to get on the good side of my professors and a chance to get to know them on a person level." They were pretty upset however they decided it would be fine as long as I collect the money and that will have to be used as the weekly allowance.

A few days later... Dustin and I decided we wanted to go pick up our tickets earlier then our scheduled collection date. As soon as we walked in to the FIFA Ticket Collection Venue we were escorted to the front of the line (I'm pretty sure it's because we didn't speak Portuguese and nobody there spoke English).

Spain/Nigeria & Semifinal Tickets

Match Opener
The day of the first match, Brazil vs. Japan, we all wanted to go to a local bar or pub to watch the match. Unfortunately ever pub was closed to private events and Fortaleza has very few bars that have TV's. We decided to stay at the hotel and watch the game on their projector. It was a cool setup and there was free food and drink. The President of Brazil and FIFA President were boo'd during opening remarks because of all of the corruption within the Brazilian government.

Because the Confederations Cup is an international tournament, all eyes are on Brazil - giving the citizens an opportunity to demand change and show the world how they really feel. The riots began because of a 0.09 cent raise in bus fares but are really about the corruption within the government and the oppression of the lower class.

Brazil vs. Mexico
I had been asking around to see if anybody had access to tickets or knew of how I could get ahold of some. Mirela (T.A.) asked if I wanted a ticket from her cousin; the only issue is I would have to go alone and what's the fun in that?

The night before the match (June 18) I decided to log onto FIFA to see if there were any tickets available for the game we all wanted to go to but it had been long sold out. There were tickets so I immediately added six to my shopping cart and found people that wanted to go. I couldn't get ahold of my mom who was initially going to pay for the tickets so I decided to call my dad and see if he would approve the purchase. He was initially hesitant but after I told him "I killed the first session (of school)! I took his letter seriously! There are only so many opportunities you get to see Brazil play in Brazil in an International Tournament," he gave me the green light.

The next morning I had to wake up at 7:00A.M. to go pick up the tickets with Mirela. The line for the ticket holders without a scheduled time was a lot shorter than the line for people with a reservation. Mirela said "it's so Brazilian - doing everything last minute."

Brazil/Mexico Tickets

After we successfully got the tickets we went to her mothers house. It was incredible. Her mom is a doctor, artist, actor, professor, marketing director for UNIFOR, and businesswoman. She owns a large plot of land and has converted it all into business property with the exception of the upstairs segment of the medical clinic. Her maids made us a killer breakfast. It was the best watermelon I have had all trip. Mirela then pulled out a hammock and told me how she used to lay down all the time as a child. After breakfast they had me lay down and I passed out for a couple of hours to the smell of fresh homemade meal. The maid had been preparing chicken, sausage, rice, and a fresh organic salad. It made me really miss homemade meals, something most people take for granted.

Taking a nap in the hammock 

Mirela and Her Mother Having a Good Time

We then headed to UNIFOR to catch the busses for the arena. There were probably 50+ busses waiting to transport fans, it was incredible - and too think that this was one of several locations. We were then dropped off 1.5 miles from the arena and had to walk with every other fan. Because of the riots there were a ridiculous amount of police monitoring the streets. Once we arrived at the arena we went into the security secured area and grabbed a couple of beers and checked out the arena.

We then sat down and watched the teams warmup and then watched the game.

Jake, Florence, Mirela, Miguel, Dustin, and Kaitlyn Before Loading The Busses 

Brazil Team Warming Up 

Mirela Posing on The Bus Pay Station Seat

Pre Match Presentation

Mid-Game 

Brazil About To Score

Brazil After 90th Minute Goal

 Both Team Warming-Up 

View From Our Seats

Kaitlyn and I On The Bus

Cheers From the Budweiser Tent At The Arena

The Group Before The Match

View From Out Seats

The Group In Our Seats

The Field

Vamos Brasil!

Some Weird Fans 

Me Posing With Fortaleza Cityscape in Background

Outside the Arena

The Group OutSide The Arena

Walking Up To The Arena

Before Going Through Security

First Sight Of The Arena

The Walk To The Stadium

After the game we left walked back to the busses. There had been a riot outside of the arena during the game and the streets were destroyed. There was broken glass everywhere, piles of ash that had recently been burnt, light poles torn out of the ground. There was even a car that had been torched. Everybody was pushing and shoving to get onto the bus and every bus was packed.

This experience was incredible. By far one of my peaks so far while on this trip. I am going to the Spain/Nigeria game sunday with the professors! Posts to come.