Postcard from Brazil: Long, happy day filled with futebol

The word orgulho means pride in Portuguese. The Brazilians are well known for their pride and passion for futebol. The pride I’ve seen from the host nation has been all-encompassing.

I’ve also seen many other soccer fanaticos from other countries here in Fortaleza. The winner by far for most pride has been the fans from Uruguay. From the moment I landed at the airport in Sao Paulo to today, they have had the most spirit with their national flags draped over their backs, funny multicolored Bozo wigs, and masks of their coach Oscar Tabarez. They have completely inundated the town in preparation for their opening match today versus Costa Rica.

We started our day with our first free big Brazilian breakfast at our pousada, as the ills of late-night beer drinking had caused us to miss it the first three days. We then walked to the FIFA fan fest on Praia de Iracema to catch the first game between Mexico and Cameroon. We strolled through the FIFA merchandise tent, which was immense and had a huge assortment of souvenirs, jerseys, hats, soccer balls, and a billion items with the official FIFA mascot Juleco the smiling armadillo.

We entered the gates to a Lollapalooza-like set up of corporate tents of media companies and Coca Cola booths offering up interactive experiences. The beach was hot in the sun and shade was at a premium for the first game. There were a hundred or so Mexican fans present, as they were in town early in anticipation for their big match versus Brazil here on Tuesday. I met fans from Chihuahua and Los Angeles who were decked out with their flags, sombreros and face paint. Drew and I found a spot in front of a lighting booth that offered up a sliver of shade. We enjoyed El Tri’s 1-0 victory and stayed cool with a cherry/ginger ale soda we’ve come to like called Guarana.

There has been a heavy police presence surrounding the fan fest downtown area. These policemen walk lock-step in groups of four all about the grounds in thick military regalia. Drew tried to get them to take a funny picture pretending to cuff him but they were serious, and declined.

The best match of the Cup so far with The Netherlands and Spain had the beach packed by the thousands. The goals by Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie for the Dutch had the place explode with joy. In between games their was live Brazilian music and DJ club music, and fans were thrown up on the massive video board in dancing delight. Sure enough at one point, I found myself on the camera and dutifully obliged with my best happy dance, samba dance, Irish jigs and funny faces. I guess I was a hit (or a dopey hit) and Drew said he caught the four policemen by us succumbed to cracking up.

We then stayed for the final match between Australia and Chile. We met a group of Socceroos, as the Aussie fans have come to be called, who were dressed in full kangaroo suits, complete with joeys popping out of their pouches. They were brave souls to face the humid heat in them and were a big hit with photo requests. We befriended two of them who said that this was their fifth World Cup in a row.

After the games we met Tarso and Adelana for a late-night out at a really authentic club restaurant called Arre Egua. We had to wait to get in and received a plastic card, like a Vegas casino club card, to use through a turnstile. The place had a great colorful yet dimly lit atmosphere with red brick columns, thick wooden beams, stained glass and walls bedecked with folk art like at a House of Blues. Instantly we noticed the female to male ratio was 3:1 and the live band playing Brazilian forro, pop and reggae had it oozing with hip-swinging sexuality. It was sort of a Cougartown and one wouldn’t have been suprised to see Courtney Cox in the corner with a Malbec. It wasn’t long before I was seduced to the dance floor and danced with more chicas then the past two years combined in Vegas for me. It was a great time that lasted well into the night.

When the band finished, everyone was made to line up and use their plastic cards to pay their tabs. The foyer area was packed with everyone waiting to get out and leave through the turnstile one by one. After paying, you were given a small slip of paper and had to hand it to the bouncer guarding the door to exit. I felt a bit more confident at this bizarre system having learned my lesson at the buffet in Sao Paulo’s airport.

We then indulged in the late-night sin of a fast food pizza joint called Habib’s. I tried to add a tip but Tarso told me to hold onto it on our way out. I didn’t know what he meant nor who I was supposed to give it to. As we backed out, I saw a young boy who helped Tarso with the traffic. This young entrepreneur had been a look out for his car while we ate and earned the 2 real tip from me. They really seem to be inventing jobs for people all over here.

Today is another hot, humid, sunny day. We secured our bus tickets for our trip to Natal for tomorrow and an Irish couple accosted us to say they recognized me from being on the Jumbotron at the Fan Fest, which had us reeling. We are headed to meet a Socceroo who has extra tickets for us to see Uruguay play Costa Rica at Castelao stadium! Chao!

Brennan Karle is a Las Vegas teacher who covers prep sports for the Review-Journal. He’s in Brazil for the World Cup and will be sharing electronic postcards on his experiences. You can see photos of his trip on Instagram at brennankarle.