Nerve Endings Firing Away

The World Cup is now an all-European affair after Brazil was unceremoniously dumped by a rock-solid French defense. I am in Houston this weekend and had to go to Buffalo Wild Wings to catch the action. Last time I was here, Germany kicked off the World Cup by an reassuring victory against minnows Costa Rica. The place, as I had mentioned was full and had its share of vociferous Costa Rican fans. Well, if that was exciting, this quarterfinal match was exhilirating. The place was absolutely packed with mostly Brazilian fans, complete with drums and trumpets and of course, Brazilian women (need I say more?) draped in yellow and green.

The match was already underway by the time we were done panicking trying to find a place to park. We had planned on having our lunch here but I could easily see that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. We dived right into the crazy Brazilian fans with a beer to keep us cool. The excitement was pure adrenaline infused with hope that their nation would live up to the hype generated by the media that expected Brazil to lift the trophy for the record sixth time.

The drum never stopped beating and the trumpets went on blaring even after France silenced them for just an instant in the 52nd minute. Each time the Brazilians entered the danger zone, the crowd went into a frenzy of Ole’ only to be followed by prolonged exclaimations of “Ooooooh.” There was a lone Frenchman at the back where we were standing who would cheer and clap each time the French would make a move. Initially I feared for his safety but then realized that everyone was out to have a nice time and no ugliness would prevail. The Brazilians kept chanting and cheering hoping their team would put one in to equalize. I was hoping they put two in so that I would have to stand for 30 more minutes.

But unfortunately that wasn’t to happen. The French repeated their 1998 final performance as Zidane, Henry, and Ribery lifted their game just enough to crush a million Brazilian hearts. Everyone at Buffalo Wild Wings went silent, refusing to believe what had just happened. Few tears were shed too. The drum was silent now and the samba had died as people slowly trooped out. Brazil was out but everyone had a great time.