September 07, 2008
USA National Soccer Teams Plays History-Making Match in Cuba and Wins
I was out to dinner Friday night and the restauant had televisions with ESPN and Comcast Sports on. I normally ignore it but I saw the Cuban flag flash by. I looked up and read the caption- USA national soccer team to play in Cuba for World Cup qualifier for the first time since 1947. (Note- the USA lost 5-2 in that 1947 exhibition game.) The reporter then went on to say "I wonder if fidel or raúl castro will show up." (The fidel part made me laugh... would they roll his dementia-riddled self out of the hospital for this event?) He also commented about whether the American team would be treated well by Cuban fans, given that the embargo has prevented playing in Cuba in the past and there is such anti-American sentiment in Cuba. The Cuban goalie had a softer take on it:
Well, there weren't many Americans in the crowd of 8,000 yesterday to cheer on the USA, just a few from the Interests Section who went as part of a special trip but accounts say the players were not treated badly, although they were booed when they took the field, but hey, in Philly that's the royal treatment for the opposing team in any sport. USA team member Tim Howard told reporters: “For all the people back home: This is a fantastic place. They’ve given us nothing but love here.”
The Cuban government bused people in for support of the home team and charged Cubans one peso (4 cents), $3.25 for foreigners and let youth and communist groups in for free.
"A few brave souls even came with faces obscured by sunglasses and bandannas patterned like the American flag to prevent identification and retribution by the U.S. government for breaking the trade sanction against the country that has been in effect since 1962.
Afterward, American players came back onto the field to thank their fans, but most of the Cuban fans stopped to applaud them as well."
While I'm glad that the USA won (Cuba is ranked 92nd, by the way) I'm curious to know how our national soccer team was granted permission to play in Cuba given the strictness of the travel regulations.
Read more about the game HERE.
Posted by Claudia4Libertad at September 7, 2008 12:57 AM
Comments
Claudia, I was reading that the process took 6 months to get the proper requisites.
I knew the second I saw the covered-faces that they were to conceal their identities (although a few U.S. fans proudly displayed not only their faces, but the flag! Pedro Gomez of ESPN talked to them, but they didn't identify themselves, nor did they want their hometowns to be revealed, but they said they took "special routes" to get there.
The U.S. played an okay game. It was a very slow-paced game. Some of the lights even went out with 5 minutes remaining.
At halftime, Pedro Gomez toured Havana, and revealed that his father left Cuba in 1962, and he even went to their former home in Havana.
GO USA!!
Posted by: j2tharome ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.babalublog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 7, 2008 01:17 AM
Here's two pictures of the Americans covered...
Posted by: j2tharome at September 7, 2008 01:34 AM
I wonder... how many of the Americans tried to defect?
Posted by: Russ at September 7, 2008 01:51 AM
I was going to mention that the ESPN reporter in question, Pedro Gomez, is Cuban-American and a Miamian to boot. If I am not mistaken he attended Coral Park. He was just hyping up the game for ESPN when he mentioned the Fidel and Raul bit, Pedro is smarter than that.
Posted by: theCardinal at September 7, 2008 02:04 AM
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