For Lincoln-based auditor Vanessa Emlich, the journey to Kansas City for the FIFA World Cup is about so much more than a soccer match. The game invites people from all over the globe to gather for 90 minutes at a time, and this year’s cup gives people in Nebraska the chance to see world-class athletes close by.
Ahead of her trip to Arrowhead Stadium, which is being temporarily renamed Kansas City Stadium for the tournament, Emlich explained the origin of her love for soccer, which dates back to the early 2000s.
“I started watching soccer when I went to grad school in England,” Emlich said. “The friend group that I had, very into sports, and so they took me to my first professional soccer game there, and that pretty much did it.”
They saw now-relegated Premier League club West Ham United defeat fellow Premier League member Aston Villa. From that day, she was hooked.
Now, three of Emlich’s nephews are about the same age as she was in grad school, so she’s taking them to the biggest soccer event in the world, just down the road in Kansas City. Their mom, Emlich’s sister, will be along for the journey as well.
“I've taken them to MLS (Major League Soccer) matches, but not to this level,” Emlich said.
She regretted not attending the last few World Cups, so Emlich wasn’t going let one in her home country slip by. It took a lot of patience and persistence just to get a spot in the stands for this year’s event. Emlich followed FIFA’s sales windows for about a year and was fortunate to get $160 seats in a presale through Visa. Resale markets, however, show prices anywhere from $700 to $33,000, with many people not getting selected during the early lottery opportunities.
“I got the cheapest tier, because the higher tiers were a bit more expensive,” Emlich said.
They’ll see Algeria and defending champion Argentina in action on Tuesday. The family will be sporting Argentina jerseys, which Emlich bought for the whole crew.
“I think it's kind of a dream come true for me,” Emlich said. “They're excited about it. They're not as big a soccer fan as I am, but I've been kind of trying to convey to them what it's like to go to a game of this type, and I finally get to show them. Because we're going to see Argentina play Algeria, there's a very good chance we'll see Messi play, which they're fans of his. I'm excited. I've never seen him play in person.”
She said her nephews were going to the World Cup regardless. Once they found out Lionel Messi would be in Kansas City, “that pretty much sealed the deal.”
That’s a huge draw for World Cup fans across the Midwest: seeing some of the most well-known athletes in the world so close to home. And Messi ranks near the top of every soccer junkie’s list of must-see stars.
“I think it'll be incredible,” Emlich said. “I mean, he's obviously the best player in the world right now, but I think ever. And just to see him play on TV is a treat. So, seeing him in person will be great. We're sitting kind of behind the goal, so hoping to see him take some good shots on our end of the field.”
And if he scores on their side, “it's going to be insane. I think the entire stadium is going to go crazy,” Emlich said. “There's lots of hugging and high fives, and people are just going to go crazy when that happens.”
This will likely be Messi’s final World Cup. The superstar turns 39 later this month and is struggling with a nagging hamstring injury.
Emlich is excited to see Messi’s grace on the pitch for sure, but this won’t be the first superstar she’s watched in person.
“I also went to the 2004 European Championships and to a semifinal in Portugal, and saw Portugal play the Netherlands, so that was awesome,” Emlich said. “Portugal won, and I was in Lisbon, which was an insane experience, so I got to see Cristiano Ronaldo play.”
At the time, Ronaldo was about 19 years old, and it “was amazing” to watch him play, Emlich said.
Basically, she’s seen lots of international soccer matches and heard lots of loud stadiums, like when Ghana faced Uruguay in the 2010 World Cup Quarterfinals in Johannesburg, South Africa. Uruguay-Ghana in 2010 has been mentioned as one of the most dramatic — and controversial — finishes in soccer history. As the match entered a shootout, nearly the entire venue was cheering for de facto home team and underdog Ghana, highlighting the spirit of the event, she said.
“That was incredible to be able to experience that type of emotion at a World Cup,” Emlich said. “That was cool, but then also to feel the gut-wrenching loss, like even though I wasn't exactly a Ghana fan, I was that day.”
A handball in the final seconds of extra time prevented the game-winning goal for Ghana. Despite the underdog dropping the match, those memories are lifted up by people in attendance, like Emlich.
As for one of this year’s home teams, Emlich thinks the U.S. National Team could make it to the quarterfinal or possibly the semifinals.
Emlich aims to make the most out of world-class soccer a couple of hours south of Lincoln. She’ll also see the Netherlands and Tunisia with a friend, and a round of 32 match that could feature a Portugal team led by Ronaldo. It could also be Ronaldo’s last World Cup, Emlich pointed out. But that’s not all. She also bought tickets to Ecuador versus Curaçao.
“I gave them to my niece, who's coming out from New York to watch that with her boyfriend,” Emlich said. “And his family's coming out, because they're from Ecuador.”
Ever since the U.S., Canada and Mexico were announced by FIFA as the hosts, Emlich was itching for the opportunity to bring communities and her family together. She started watching sports as a baseball fan and followed the San Francisco 49ers football team. But soccer is just a little bit different. It spans continents.
“I think what did it for me was how soccer was so kind of woven into the culture, in England and the rest of the world,” Emlich said. “And I don't think I quite realized how impactful the sport was for other countries and, when the World Cup and these major tournaments come around, how much the people go get behind their countries.”
That level of fandom was eye-opening, even at the pubs in England. It’s akin to the way people gather for Husker football, but on an international scale, Emlich said. She offered several great examples of this in her life. Perhaps the most moving story was how soccer connected her to family on the other side of the world. Emlich’s mom is from Thailand, and Emlich’s uncle still lives there.
“He doesn’t speak English, and I never learned Thai,” Emlich said, “but when I visit, we can bond by watching soccer together and say club and player names, like Chelsea and Ronaldo. Every World Cup, I send him the championship jersey.”
That’s one of many reasons why soccer isn’t just a game for Emlich.
