Proof That Brazil Is World Cup Soccer's True Home

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Brazil's Fluminense's Cicero, left, fights for the ball with Argentina's Boca Juniors' Gabriel Paletta during a Copa Libertadores soccer semifinal game at Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

Image: Ricardo Moraes/Associated Press

By Sam Laird2014-04-12 11:45:32 UTC

The 2014 World Cup officially kicks off in Brazil two months from Saturday. Off-the-pitch worries — massive protests and crime chief among them — are well-founded, to be sure. But when it comes to soccer itself and how Brazilians regard the beautiful game, Brazil is the World Cup's one true home.

You'll hear this over and over between now and June 12 — but forget all that vague pontification. We have firsthand proof.

I had the good fortune of attending a very-big-deal soccer match at the Maracana, Rio de Janeiro's legendary stadium that will host the World Cup final on July 13, at the end of a long backpacking trip through South America in 2008. In 28 years of attending all range of sports events at multiple levels in multiple countries, the Maracana on the night of June 4, 2008, remains the single most insane atmosphere I've ever witnessed. And I use "insane" in the most complimentary way possible.

More than an hour before the match was even scheduled to start, fans had already filled the Maracana (capacity: 96,000!) nearly to capacity. Fans from both sides — Rio-based host Fluminense and the visiting Boca Juniors of Buenos Aires, Argentina — chanted. Loudly. Then they chanted more, and louder. And more. And louder. Some beat drums. Others waved a total of hundreds, if not thousands, of balloons.

The vibe was aggressive and manically passionate, but didn't feel dangerous. This despite flares burning in the stands and at times rendering visibility near zero thanks to their smoke. Firecrackers were also popular. No celebratory fan accessory, it seemed, was off limits.

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The Maracana was TOO TURNT UP on June 4, 2008.

Below is a 30-second video I shot on my camera. I was sitting behind one goal; the flashes and flares you see in the distance through the smoke are coming from fans clear across the stadium. Perhaps you can catch little glimpses of field through the madness.

Now here's a clearer, longer and slightly tamer look at the pre-game madness. The old Brazilian man dancing to my right, who makes his first appearance about five seconds in ,was pretty much the coolest guy ever.

Why all the fuss? This match mattered. Fluminense and Boca Juniors were squaring off in the second leg of their Copa Libertadores semifinal matchup. The Copa Libertadores — the South American equivalent of Europe's Champions League — takes the top teams from each domestic league to create one continent-wide mega-tournament every year. The winner of this matchup would go on to the Copa Libertadores finals. The loser's season would be over.

Boca Juniors is probably the most iconic club in South America, so Fluminense supporters were extra motivated to roll out their best un-welcome mat. And here's the topper: Fluminense and Boca had tied 2-2 during the first leg of their semifinal a week before, meaning that this second leg was for all the marbles — whoever won here was booking a ticket to the final, period.

A father and his two young kids — a boy and a girl— sat in the row in front of me. They were Brazilian, and all three were decked out in Fluminense's deep red and green colors. Both son and daughter looked to be somewhere between seven and ten years old. "How sweet," I thought to myself. "What a great family outing. And especially cool that this adorable little girl and her dad can bond over sports like this."

A little later, the Boca supporters launched into an impassioned chant from their sideline section to our left. That cute little girl reacted like this, which floored me completely:

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#YOLO girl flips a double birdie at the Maracana on June 4, 2008.

In the 57th minute, Boca's Martín Palermo scored to put his squad up 1-0. This was very bad news for the dedicated masses inside the Maracana, putting their dream of moving on to the final in serious jeopardy. But then — an equalizer!

Fluminense's Washington (yes, rocking the one name thing) scored on a free kick in the 62nd minute to tie the game. Suddenly Fluminense and its tens of thousands of supporters in attendance had new hope. And new hope, at least in this case, meant complete bedlam.

I caught the goal and subsequent celebration on camera; it's embedded below. At about the 20-second mark, you'll see a particularly hearty Fluminense supporter gesticulating madly. He spent much of his post-goal adrenaline flipping off the Boca sections to our left with great gusto. You'll also have to excuse the shoddy camera work right after the goal, as I (and many others) had just accidentally been doused in beer.

Less than 10 minutes later, an own-goal by Boca gave Fluminense the lead, and released more joyous chaos. Then another Fluminense score in stoppage time put the nail in Boca's coffin and provided the 3-1 final score.

But after the final whistle, a funny thing happened: No one wanted to go home. Cheering, chanting, hugging, kissing, drinking, taunting — these all seemed more appealing options than leaving the Maracana. Here's the post-win scene (shout out the guy taking a selfie at 2:15 — truly a man ahead of his time):

Fluminense would go on to lose in the finals to Ecuadorean side LDU Quito, but their fans that night will always be winners in my book.

The 2014 World Cup, the first time the tournament has been held in Brazil since 1950, kicks off June 12. And now you know why it feels like too long to wait.