THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2014
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PAGE 17
FUTEBOL FROM PAGE 9
for the exact same reason: living out their World Cup dreams.
Smooth traveling hasn't turned up roses for everyone. Wiebe said his coworker has had some issues with canceled flights and sleeping on airport floors, but speaking for himself, he said he hasn't experienced any major airport or traffic issues to date.
While some fans have had issues arise with taxis, whether it was securing one or traveling in one in general, Wiebe, being a New York City resident and used to hefty cab rides, taxis throughout Brazil have been very reasonable and easy to access.
Joseph agreed that, while in Rio, he has had little to no problem making his way through the city, but he did notice a few alarming details while out on the road.
"The driving in Brazil is insane," Joseph said. "They don't enforce traffic laws, so it's a free-for-all, basically. Cab drivers have phones or iPads mounted to their dash in order to watch games while driving. Really cool, yet kind of scary."
Subways in Sao Paolo, where Brazil's opening match of the tournament took place, were also easily accessible and closely resembled the subways
he takes to work in New York City, which made for less of a headache getting around, Wiebe said.
A week and a half into the World Cup and Wiebe has already traveled quite a distance, making stops in Sao Paolo, Natal and Manaus, where the United States played their match against Portugal on Sunday tying 2-2.
The one thing that is potent in every city he travels to is the contingency of U.S. fans and an abundance of American support, Wiebe said.
"Certainly, it is as good of a U.S. environment, pro-U.S. environment, as I could've imagined for the World Cup," Wiebe said. "Granted this is my
first, but I don't remember in the past things being quite like this."
The American Outlaws, the prominent U.S. soccer supporter group, has held its share of block parties while in Brazil, painting the corners of match cities in red, white and blue, while chanting U-S-A at the top of their lungs, Wiebe said.
Excitement and pandemonium are nowhere near in short supply throughout Brazil, no matter what nation's supporters one may stumble upon.
Getting involved and somewhat immersing yourself in the culture of not only the event, but also of Brazil, was
incredible and definitely left a lifelong impression, Wiebe said.
"In Natal, the day before the [U.S.] game we went down to the beach, and I played about an hour of beach soccer with a bunch of locals," Wiebe said. "In that environment, with that backdrop and the connection of the game for all of us was a really special moment."
The U.S. will play Germany on Thursday at 11 a.m. with the chance to advance to the next round if they secure either a draw or win.
Edited by Kaitlyn Klein