Critchlow and family take in World Cup in Brazil
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- Published on Friday, June 27, 2014
By: Lanny Stewart
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The World Cup, considered the biggest single-event sporting competition in the world, is currently taking place in Brazil and a local family were able to take in some of the soccer action recently.
Kaiten Critchlow, a Neepawa resident, along with a friend and some of his family members, recently travelled to the largest country in South America for what was a 10-day excursion June 14-24, which included stops in Natal, Fort Aleza and Sao Paulo Brazil and three World Cup matches.
鈥淭o be honest when I was in Brazil, it didn鈥檛 hit me until we went into the stadium that I was at the World Cup,鈥� said Critchlow, an avid soccer enthusiast in the area. 鈥淲hen we entered the stadium and I looked around, the music is blaring and everyone is in there, it was almost emotional. It was amazing for me for someone who loves soccer so much.鈥�
Critchlow says the family always wanted to do a lengthy trip 鈥� and considering all who travelled south were soccer fans 鈥� an adventure to Brazil made a ton of sense. One of the games Critchlow and his group attended was the USA versus Ghana matchup on Monday, June 16. The contest included the fifth quickest goal ever scored in World Cup history as Clint Dempsey of the USA netted a tally just 29 seconds into the contest.
鈥淭he goal was scored so quick you didn鈥檛 even know what happened to be honest,鈥� said Critchlow with a smile.
The crew also took in the Japan versus Greece game on Thursday, June 19 as well as the Ghana versus Germany contest on Saturday, June 21. For two of the three games, Critchlow and his crew were really close to the action.
鈥淲e were really fortunate because for one game we were third row from the ground and another one, we were right behind the Ghana bench,鈥� he said.
He says during the two games that involved the Ghana team, fans of the club were standing, dancing and cheering for the entire match.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty sure they had twice as many fans in that section as they were supposed to have,鈥� he added with a smile. 鈥淭he atmosphere was incredible. I鈥檝e never been to any sporting event that鈥檚 had such a crazy atmosphere, especially when there are goals scored. Everyone went crazy.鈥�
Critchlow says when you鈥檙e at the stadium watching the games live, there are two things that you notice fairly quickly that you aren鈥檛 able to when watching soccer games on television.
鈥淭he first thing is, especially for people who are big into soccer, is the tactical play of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause on TV, it just focuses on the play, but when you鈥檙e there you can see everybody moving and repositioning. How they鈥檙e adapting. Soccer is more than just where the ball is.
鈥淭he second thing is, the TV doesn鈥檛 give justice to their [players] touch on the ball,鈥� he continued. 鈥淭heir first touch, second touch. The little things that they鈥檙e doing with the ball. When you鈥檙e there live and can see what鈥檚 actually being done with their feet. It鈥檚 just phenomenal.鈥�
Critchlow says they also attended a World Cup fan fest, which had thousands of fans and a large screen, which showed the World Cup games live to the fans in attendance.
In photo: Kaiten Critchlow (second from right with white shirt) with his crew in Brazil during the World Cup.
Photo submitted
