Ensign College hosted a FIFA World Cup celebration Thursday, a week before the tournament is scheduled to kick off in Mexico, and a day before play in the U.S. and Canada begins.
Students were invited to represent their home country by wearing their jersey to a watch party held on campus in Salt Lake City. And the energy was befitting the world’s biggest sporting event.
With a student body made up with more than 40% foreign students, the commons area at Ensign was filled with a wide array of jerseys, namely from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador.
The football-loving students played minigames like soccer pong, a penalty kick game, flag matching and World Cup trivia as they listened to music and ate food.
What are students most excited for?
Tadi Schuba from Zimbabwe said she is excited to watch all the games.
“I’m planning to watch all the games,” she said. Her home country has never made the World Cup, but she says she hopes that can one day change.
“I hope one day (Zimbabwe) can make it to the World Cup, because I love to watch soccer. I go to Real Salt Lake with my cousins and my uncle, and we always watch all the games there, and it’s just a fun sport for me to watch.”
Another student, Kenneth Ramos, is a big time fan of soccer and actually plans to attend a fan fest in New York hosted by Adidas. He and his brother will spend a week participating in the festivities and will leave shortly after his home country kicks off the tournament against South Africa on June 11.
Ramos, whose family is near Mexico City, says he wishes he could be back in his hometown to see all the festivities going on, and he might even attend a match in person.
“My brother really wants to go to Brazil against Morocco,” he said. Noting the expensive tickets, he continued, “It would be a dream come true, just to be in a World Cup game, and watching Brazil. I think that would be amazing.”
Students attending matches
Many students expressed interest in attending a World Cup match but acknowledged the $1,000-plus average ticket price was just too expensive to justify. Ticket pricing is a front many are united on, since this year’s tournament is projected to be the most expensive edition of the monthlong event, with the final match being projected as the most expensive sporting event in history.
Even President Donald Trump joked he “wouldn’t pay” the extraordinary price to watch a game. But as tickets remain unsold, per BBC, prices may come down before play begins on the pitch.
U.S. soccer compared to other countries
At the college’s celebration, Brazil’s bright yellow jersey was most represented, with some Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador jerseys sprinkled into the crowd.
Arthur Da Silva, who was sporting a Brazil jersey, said he is not a regular watcher of soccer, but when the World Cup rolls around, his fandom shows. Some of his favorite memories are when his house and the houses next door are going “ecstatic.”
“Here in the U.S. it’s more conservative. You’re watching the game, you’re cheering with your friends inside your home. While in Brazil, it’s just chaos. You’re watching, you hear people screaming in the streets, people even light some fireworkswhenever there’s a goal — we go wild,” he said. “Here, it’s a little bit moreinside the home (with) your friends.”
Da Silva said he cannot wait for the games to start, and he hopefully will watch Neymar and Brazil make a deep run. He says he will be watching every game.
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