Saudi Arabia's legendary FifaWorldCup upset over Argentina sparked an impromptu national holiday. GregBishopSI went to the hometown of its hero goalkeeper to see what that looked like and found a city with a strong soccer soul
that failed to be captured in real time or real depth. It stemmed from perhaps the five-most-glorious minutes in a nation’s sports history. Moments that were made even-more glorious because few outside of the team, their most delusional relatives and true believers blind to green saw them coming.
That’s the thing, though. To the world, the upset seemed to come from nowhere. But not to the Saudis, who believe they know exactly where it came from. Who knew? A country that’s not really known for sports still has a soccer soul. Taxi No. 3 speeds toward the city center. As it gets closer, signs of civilization appear – Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin’ Donuts, Domino’s Pizza; the comforts of home, apparently, regardless of whereOne of the many soccer fields in Al Hofuf, Saudi Arabia, fresh with upholstery-stripped couches for seating.Traffic becomes chaotic, with lanes and roundabouts and things like signaling mere suggestions as cars dip in and out, breaking and honking. Another pitch.
A customer stops by the front counter. He’s wearing green, of course. Who isn’t? The customer came early that morning, to buy national team swag, but the man behind the counter had already sold out. The customer went to college at Michigan State, and he never understood why the locals were so fixated with hockey. He hailed from Saudi Arabia. Football, his version, is what he knew. His son is with him, trailing behind.
Before the tournament started, officials from both countries insisted travelers could speed between with ease, with facilities built on the Qatar side equipped to handle 4,000 visitors an hour. On Wednesday, it took one visitor an hour to navigate the byzantine maze all by himself.
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