Determined to watch the final match in the World Cup, I set out with my French housemate to the Dutch Pub on the Corner. Being 15 minutes early would secure a good spot I figured. How wrong I was. The small pub was packed with people. It was worse than the bus I had been on much earlier, hell sardines have more space in a can. People were pressed against the windows or standing outside. Some daredevils even ventured inside, squirming themselves in. And even if Sarah had been a foot taller (because of all the tall Dutch), we probably wouldn’t have wanted to get inside.
We decided to look for another place to watch, and in a fleeting moment I saw my Dutch flight companion, pressed against the glass. He’d been in Quito the entire time, but this is the first time we see each other again. He gives me a thumbs up when I ask him how things are going, and Sarah and I walk on. We’re lucky, the next pub is bigger and has 3 video screens. However, nationalities are mixed. Spanish and Dutch are watching the same game together and Americans and Ecuadorians are dressed in orange or red.
But what a terrible game! 9 yellow cards and a red one for the Dutch game. They wanted it so bad, they almost deserved to lose. Ball possession was almost equal, the Spanish team had just a little more chances to score, but still. Only 4 minutes before the end of overtime, Fábregas scores against the Dutch. The Dutch storm the field when the game ends, claiming that Fábregas was offside, but sorry guys, the video clearly shows he wasn’t. A muffled sound of disappointment sounds around me, while from the next room some loud cheering is clearly audible. For the third time in history, the Dutch football team misses the mark in the finals.
Making a link to an e-mail I got from R.: Though Ecuador didn’t qualify for the World Cup, the excitement was definitely felt here. And not just because I find myself in the most touristic location in the country. Until the final South-American country lost, even the Ecuadorians were fanatic about the World Cup. With our heads down, we leave the pub. The craziness is over and we can go on with our normal lives. Or at least, I can go on with my ‘normal’ Ecuadorian life.
Today I got an e-mail from Judy, giving me more assurance of my upcoming work for the Kallari association. It is almost certain that I will leave Quito for a couple of weeks after celebrating my birthday.
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