ARLINGTON, TX — The World Cup in person is joyously, wonderfully loud and colorful.
That was the first, most obvious thing to notice when England took on Croatia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, where the most anticipated match of the group stage ended up being the best match of the group stage (a 4-2 English victory on June 17).
I got there because a friend did something I failed to do and won FIFA’s ticket lottery, in the process paying $250 per ticket in an area of the stadium where people around us paid upwards of $2,000 through third-party outlets.
Actually, most people in my little corner of AT&T Stadium got their tickets through Croatia’s federation, so we were tucked into a Croatian section in a stadium that was about 3-to-1 English fans.
The ridiculous ticket prices are unquestionably the worst thing about this World Cup and what especially hurt after watching England-Croatia was the knowledge that so many Texans who would treasure this experience won’t be able to go.
The most common statement from American neutrals after a game is “experience of a lifetime” and anyone with several thousand dollars to spare should find a way in.
Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker, who didn’t know who English star Harry Kane was before the match (thus he knew no players) and evidently had never seen a soccer game in person, called it the greatest sporting event he’d ever seen and said after watching he was “100%” going to take his family to Europe to see a big match.
That was a typical reaction from people new to this.
The scale of everything is massive, and at AT&T Stadium, that starts with the venue. It actually seats fewer fans than England’s cathedral of the sport, Wembley Stadium, but AT&T Stadium is literally almost three times bigger (3 million square feet to 1.15 million square feet).
Plus it’s air-conditioned, which was very welcome for English and Croatian fans experiencing true Texas heat and humidity for the first time.
This was all quite different from the 1994 World Cup, which included games in the much smaller Cotton Bowl in Downtown Dallas to non-sellout crowds, though those too were an experience, and a much more affordable one.
The party that was England-Croatia started long before the match at the entertainment venue Texas Live!, about half a mile from the stadium, which was mostly taken over by English fans (though one over-served Croat, who thought I was English, explained to me, “Next time you have a crusade, I’m going. I’m not even kidding, I’m serious.”)
Interactions between the fans were positive, with English and Croatians posing for pictures together and wishing each other luck.
Inside the stadium the outnumbered Croatians did cheers and chants in the concourse to mark their ground before heading to their seats and decorating our section with flags and banners.
The national anthems were an experience in itself. First the English belting out “God Save the King” (the last time I heard that it was “God Save the Queen”), then the Croatians around me enthusiastically singing a tune I’d never heard before in Croatian.
Then the match started and wow.
No matter what one thinks about soccer, the World Cup features the best athletes in the world, playing for maximum stakes in front of loud, boisterous, singing fans.
The first half was a roller coaster, with Kane missing a penalty kick to huge cheers around me, but getting a redo and making it to a sea of middle fingers (a universal language).
Then Croatia scored and the eruption of pure joy was a moment that won’t be forgotten.
Then an English goal, then a Croatian goal on the last kick of the first half to make it 2-2 and once again madness all around (except for two English women who were somehow in our section).
England took control in the second half, eventually winning 4-2, then they got to play the three celebratory songs they submitted: Oasis’ “Wonderwall,” Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”
The aging man in me listened in awe to 40,000+ people singing “Hey Jude,” but afterward it was Kane who said that hearing English fans (and him) sing “Wonderwall” was one of his “favorite ever moments” on the English national team.
By then the Croatians around me had cleared out and soon enough we did too. Then back out in the oppressive heat to walk a half mile back to Texas Live! to wait a few hours until surge pricing began to dissipate on Uber.
By then, all that was left were memories, but those will last forever.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Column: Seeing World Cup in Texas in person is experience of a lifetime
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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By Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
