varn.dev

Back in June, I traveled with my family to Atlanta to attend a World Cup game.

FIFA is, without a doubt, one of the most corrupt organizations on the planet. But as a soccer fan, the World Cup is a huge deal and is always enjoyable. So, I set my morals briefly aside and secured 4 tickets (for me, my dad, my son and my brother) as this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to attend.

Rather than go through the entire shitty FIFA ticketing process, once the dates and venues for the games were announced, I bought my tickets “blind” through Stub Hub. I had no idea where my exact seats were, and certainly no idea on who the teams were going to be, but since I knew how much a hassle getting tickets were going to be, I figured that ANY game at the World Cup is better than none, and I knew I would regret it if I didn’t go. I knew the Group that I was going to get

I watched the group draw when it happened (a terrible “show” with none other than Donald Trump in attendance) in December 2025 and followed the qualifiers to see who would make it. Colombia, Portugal, Uzbekistan were drawn in automatically, with three other teams (New Caledonia, Jamaica and Democratic Republic of Congo) competing for the last spot. Congo ended up winning and the Group stage was set.

When the matches were announced, I hoped for Colombia vs. Portugal, or either of those teams against one of the other two, as both as well known soccer countries. Sadly, the draw was not in my favor and I ended up with a match between Uzbekistan vs. Congo, in the last game of the Group.

Uzbekistan had already been eliminated from moving onto the knockout round, but Congo - with a win - could secure a 3rd place spot and move on. Our seats ended up being in the highest deck, right behind a goal, but as my brother put it (who became a soccer convert after attending), having such a high up seat let us watch plays develop, to which I totally agreed.

After a waived off, offside goal by Congo, Uzbekistan scored first and went into half time with a 1-0 lead. In the second half though, Congo came roaring back and ended up winning 3-1. The ironic part about my seats was that even though it was so high up, all 4 goals scored were in the goal we were above, so we got to see all of the best parts of the game right there and in person.

Despite being two smaller, non-soccer powerhouse countries, the venue was almost sold out and the fans were excited and electric. There were many people like me, who had no rooting interest for either side, but it became clear that the “neutrals” heavily started to support Congo. I saw many people wearing the Congo jersey or wearing a Congo scarf who, at least based on their race, likely had no connection to Congo, as it is a primarily Black country.

The overall experience of the World Cup, putting all of the politics of the world and FIFA and the prices and all of that aside, was one of joy and pride. People gathered together to watch the beautiful game, and for those wonderful 90 minutes, all of the other noise and politics and everything else that roils this country and the world disappeared. After the match, Congo fans (and newly adopted Congo fans) were dancing and celebrating through the concourses, filming each other and laughing and high fiving and really just showing what is great about sports, how it can unify people from all walks of life and just enjoy a simple game, played by some of the best humans in the world.

I’m so glad I got to go to experience this, to share it with my son and brother and dad, and don’t regret a single penny spent, recognizing how fortunate I was to be able to afford to go of course.