Today was the FIFA Women’s World Cup final between the USA and the Netherlands. Most of us went to a patch of green in Les Halles, behind the church of St. Eustache, to watch the game on a Jumbotron. Despite the sun (cloud cover to come later) and slight temperature, the only heat felt was from the crowd as everyone was getting amped up for the game.
Now me personally, I have never been that big of a sports fan. I usually just watch the “big” games like the Super Bowl, the Olympics, my friend’s varsity volleyball finals. You know, the super important games. But there was just this energy all around, as many people came in branded with red, white, and blue in honor of Team USA (I know Team Netherlands has the same colors but they wore orange). These colors I’d seen before at many other games so I took almost no note, but when spectators would pass by me speaking French, or Spanish, or any other language, it brought me back to one realization: I was not in America right now. All these different people were rooting for my home country even though they were not part of it. And then it hit me: sports bring people together, no matter the country, culture, or language.
Most of the spectators (ourselves included) were rooting for Team USA, and it was interesting to hear all the different cheering, ooo-ing, and boo-ing from them. Even though the livestream was in French, it didn’t bother any of the non-French speakers in the crowd. We were here to watch Team USA kick some butt back to the Netherlands. It was such a fun and communal event. Everyone felt the anxiety when no points were scored in the first half, the pinch of hope when a shot was taken, the audible grunt when it missed, and the loud roar when the USA made not one, but two goals in less than 10 minutes (the captain of Team USA is the best). With only 30 minutes left in the game, we all knew it had already been decided, the anticipation to call it was just building until finally the game ended and everyone stood up to cheer.
It was a fun time to spend together not only with fellow classmates but also with total strangers, as we all expressed our shared love for the game and its outcome. It was also fun to learn that you can’t learn until you leave home: sports is the great bridge between cultures.
Soccer is the international sport. All you need is a ball and you can play (using rocks or sticks as goal posts,) this is probably why so many people have a connection to it. Games don’t require the extensive knowledge of other languages, which may be why regardless of background, we all have a childlike fun when partaking in them.