As I said here a couple of weeks ago, there are few things more exciting than the World Cup if you are a Brazilian. It’s amazing to realize how the meaning of soccer for my people takes such astounding proportions.Brazil in a World Cup game day is like Baton Rouge when the Tigers are about to go into Death Valley.Many of us make the deepest emotional investment in the team, many times in an exaggerated way, and hope for a victory that will redeem us from boring lives.Nonetheless, it’s this same heated, emotional approach to the game that makes our magnificent players lose their cool and eventually the game, leaving hundreds of thousands of Brazilians disappointed, depressed and even desperate.Let me tell you my personal tragic experience.I was at a music festival in Columbus, Ohio, this last week, where I met people from all over the world. During the week I was constantly inviting them to watch the game with me on Friday morning — Brazil vs. Netherlands in the World Cup quarterfinals.I couldn’t help it. I wanted to show them the pride and excitement of a Brazilian victory in a World Cup game, stamped on my face. They would cheer with me, tightening our recent friendship bonds.It all sounded very hip and fantastic.We woke up to watch the game after a late night of playing and jamming at our dorm’s lobby.The game started, and we were all smiles.Brazil scored the first goal. I jumped and screamed — everyone around me laughed and enjoyed the atmosphere.Then, disaster struck. After halftime, the Netherlands score an accidental goal. Our defense failed laughably.The game grew tenser and more violent. Fouls and injuries followed.One of our players got a red card and went “to the shower,” as we say in Brazil.The Netherlands score a second goal. It’s not looking good. Brazil creates lots of chances for beautiful goals, but the ball insists on not hitting the net.The picture was done. It was a quarterfinal game, and we were out of the World Cup!Unfortunately, quantity is better than quality in most sports, and in soccer this truth can have unfair and sad consequences.Both Brazil and the Netherlands gave us an interesting and exciting spectacle.But as the minutes after the defeat unfold, a bitter feeling started to rise in the heart of my nation.A strange certainty of a new world championship (this one would have been the sixth for Brazil) that was carefully built inside our hearts suddenly imploded.My new friends said words of consolation. Some Brazilian friends called me, almost crying. It’s almost funny.I know many of my countrymen are not only sad. They are angry, trying to blame whoever suits: the coach, the players, their horoscope.Our neighbor and biggest rival, Argentina, applauded and commemorated the occasion. Their party was shown on national television. It hurt.The defender who accidentally helped the Netherlands score its first goal arrived in Brazil and was strongly criticized.Our coach, a hero one week ago, is now seen as a kind of shameful figure.Everyone has a supposedly important and different opinion about the match. We have a famous saying that states that every Brazilian is a soccer referee.If only that one call, that one kick was slightly different from what it was. Now, we’ll just have to wait. Wait four long years until the next World Cup, or until our nation relies on more than just the performance of the soccer team to feed its self-esteem.
—-Contact Marcelo Vieira at [email protected].