Janne Palomäki
San Francisco got angry with Fifa, writes Janne Palomäki from Santa Clara.
(updated )
The people of San Francisco are not satisfied with their lot as World Cup hosts. EPA / AOP
Of the three hosts of the World Cup, futis is the absolute number one sport only in Mexico.
I was on the spot to witness how Thursday’s opening victory over cold-blooded South Africa caused the entire nation to spontaneously celebrate. The streets of the capital, Mexico City, were clogged with cars crawling along the bottom.
The bravest hung half outside the window and waved the Mexican flag.
Even the summer rain that washed the city did not restrain the joy.
Futis connected everyone from baby to danger.
At the weekend, the traffic of Paseo de la Reforma, which runs through the center, was completely stopped and the giant street was opened only to fans celebrating the opening of the World Cup.
Paseo de la Reforma was filled with citizens celebrating Mexico’s opening victory. PDO
When I traveled across the border to San Francisco, it was easy to see that the difference to the soccer drug in Mexico is huge.
The hippie town’s decision-makers got mad at Fifa because the initial group draw left it in complete limbo.
After the draw, they realized that the visiting Qatar, Jordan and Paraguay do not represent the greatest market potential. So the city practically turned off all the money taps.
There is no official Fifa fan zone in San Francisco at all. The official explanation has been that they don’t want to put the cost of its security on the shoulders of taxpayers.
You can understand the bad mood when you look at what happened to the neighbors. Kansas City welcomed reigning world champion Argentina to its stadium, Atlanta hosted two-time European champion Spain, and Houston saw Germany, Portugal and Holland up close.
In fact, Monterrey on the Mexican side is the only place, besides San Francisco, where no first category team plays in the initial group stage.
Of course, there is also an official Fifa fan park there.
Naturally, Fifa would have wanted to guarantee the sponsors as much visibility as possible in every competition city.
However, San Francisco neglected its duty: there is no Fifa Fan Fest in the city. Fans visiting there now have to find another place to watch the matches.
After Saturday’s Switzerland-Qatar match, the hotel next to the stadium had organized a perfect garden party for the post-match.
The sun was shining and Lynyrd Skynyrd was roaring. A simple hamburger meal cost $30.
The party was named “End Zone”, which raises the question, how much the differences between different types of football are clear to Californians.
Such is the case of a $30 hamburger meal next door to Levi’s Stadium. Janne Palomäki
Levi’s Stadium already hosted the Super Bowl this year, so it’s not that San Francisco doesn’t know how to organize big sports competitions.
In connection with the World Cup, it decided that it does not want to do that.
The decision is certainly the right one for the city’s taxpayers. From Fifa’s point of view, it will be extremely embarrassing if the USA continues its good performances in its opening match and wins its own initial group.
Then the home team’s first playoff game would be played at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
