For Brazil holding the World Cup is like a consecration of their passion. The Brazilians are the proud host of the soon-to-come World Cup, and they are scrambling to get things ready on time. The Confederation Cup, which is essentially a dress rehearsal for the FIFA, is being held around the country a year before the WC. Just on the news yesterday they were showing them buckets in hand, taking water out of a collapsing roof of a new stadium. Brasilia new stadium, the Mane Garrincha National Stadium, has a crew working around the clock to finish on time. This new stadium, sitting near the city center, would have cost more than US$ 550 millions to the taxpayers. A few days ago, the inauguration went on despite missing seats. Not wanting to miss a historic event, we purchased tickets to attend the first match to be played in the stadium: Santos (SP) vs Flamingo (Rio). The tickets were horribly expensive. So much for sport being a democratization of the masses. At the price we paid, we could have done a nice trip somewhere out of town for the weekend.
In any cases, this is how it works:
Pay online. Then go line up somewhere in town for a few hours before you get your tickets. The D day, walk over along with about 20,000 others for a few miles, because all the streets around the area are closed to traffic. Then line up in one of the swirling queues all around the stadium. Finally get near security. Pass your bag in metal detector, with the feeling nobody really watched the screen. Don't feel surprise if no one asked you for that pricey ticket yet. Walk further to the precinct of the stadium, climb the stairs, wondering how this can be so easy - people without tickets might also be wandering. Get to your seating area, pass a small gate - finally show that ticket. Grab the breathtaking view, then find you row. There, balancing midway in the stairs, try to count the seats to match the number on your ticket. The stadium is not entirely finished, seat numbering is still in the "to-do" list. Find people in your seat. Happy people that are not going to move. Split your group of friends, get kids to share seats. Swear quietly about what feels like a money scam.
Ok, I sound grumpy, but we had a great time. A really fun time.
We forget about it all when the match started. We later figured that the ticket price comes with a de-frozen burger in a bag, a cola and two bags of chips, to the delight of the kids.
It was fun to see the action, to see how Flamingo (the red and black) are the favorite of the Brasilienses. A few hundred Santos fans were installed in one area, surrounded with massive security protection. Emmanuel's teacher and her family enjoyed the attention! It was great to experience this modern colosseum, to be part of a historical moment like this one. And it was great to see how excited the kids were!
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