Fans of the Colombian and Ghanaian national soccer teams held dueling rallies in Kansas City on Thursday to celebrate their teams' advancement to the next stage of the World Cup and to prepare for Friday night's match between the two at Arrowhead Stadium.
Thousands of people clad in bright yellow flooded Mill Creek Park in a "banderazo," or large rally, to represent Colombia before migrating to the Marriott Country Club Plaza, where the team is staying, to celebrate the athletes.
Meanwhile, more fans partied with a "jama," a celebration in Ghanaian culture that features traditional songs, chants and dance, at Washington Square Park in honor of Ghana.
The Colombia-Ghana World Cup match kicks off at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The FIFA Fan Festival, on the grounds of the National WWI Museum and Memorial, will be open from noon to 11 p.m.
Team Colombia
For Colombia's rally, fans filled Mill Creek Park and lined Main Street, which was partially closed at one point. They lit fireworks and firecrackers, many with Colombia-themed smoke and flares, and flew tons of Colombian flags.
In true sports fan fashion, some were locked in for part of the evening on the World Cup's Portugal-Croatia match, which was being played in Toronto. They crowded around others who were streaming the match on their cellphones.
Gustavo Restrepo is vice president of the Colombian Cultural Association. He was thrilled to see a sea of yellow across Mill Creek Park.
"When you see yellow all over the city, that means passion for our soccer teams, that means kindness, so that is very important," he said.
Fabio Rodriguez said he was so excited to see fellow Colombians that he had to get a beer from a vendor to celebrate.
“It’s brilliant. We’ve never had something like this here before, maybe on a smaller scale, but this is amazing," he said. “Can’t listen to this music without a nice, cold drink.”
Later on Thursday, Colombian players, including forward Luis "Lucho" Diaz, came out on the balcony of their hotel to raucous cheering and chants of "Vamos, vamos Colombia! Que mañana tenemos que ganar!" ("Come on, come on Colombia! We have to win tomorrow!")
Team Ghana
At Washington Square Park, fans put their love for the Black Stars, Ghana's national team, on full display at a "jama." Among them was Nanaama Osei, who flew in from Accra, Ghana’s capital.
“A jama is a native Ghanaian thing; the vibe around jama is singing and cheering,” Osei said. “The cheering is a different level; it boosts the morale of everybody we are cheering on and everything. It's seeing and experiencing what vibe is all about.”
Being surrounded by her community in a Kansas City jama session, Osei said she believes the Black Stars have all the support they need to win against Colombia.
“We are ready to fight, fight with everything we have: our blood, our sweat, our tears, everything. I think the Black Stars will do it for us. So we are cheering them on to win this game for us.”
Helping lead the crowd in song, wearing yellow with a scarf and red hat, was Father Joseph Asante. Asante, who is a priest in Shawnee, Kansas, has been living in the metro for about a year now, but he has been a Black Stars fan since grade school.
“In Kansas, we Ghanaians who are ready to support them and dance for them and make them joyful,” he said.
He said the Ghana soccer team playing in Kansas City is a dream come true for him. He likes the team's chance at winning it all.
Asante broke into a chant: “God bless our homeland, Ghana,” then called out “Nkunimdie,” which means “victory.”
