World Cup + World Tour – Travel Short

When’s the last time you fell in love? Do you remember the moment? Was it when you spied that person from across the room? When that hook kicked in on that song? When you took that first bite?

I remember the day, the exact moment I fell in love with football (not the American version, although we of course got Seahawks love!). June 5th, 2002, 6:04pm in Suwon, South Korea. Team USA stunned the world when O’Brien scored US’s first goal against Team Portugal, the favorites to win their group. No one expected the US to score, let alone score 3 goals. Against all odds, USA beat Portugal, 3-2.

USA’s win over Portugal remains one of the biggest World Cup upsets ever. I didn’t realize the impact till later, sitting at a bar drinking with USA fans from all over the world. People kept shouting that I didn’t and I couldn’t understand how huge the win was, how important and impossible the win was for US soccer. MLS was 7 years young, Seattle didn’t have the Sounders, and the idea of top international players coming Stateside to play in the MLS was a pipe dream (Villa!!!).

12 years later, I’ve beaten my own set of impossible odds – I’ve watched soccer in 9 countries and visited stadiums in another 4. The World Tour doesn’t just feed my love of office supplies – it feeds my love of football.

Ecuador’s national team secured their spot in World Cup 2002 at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa.

One of the best-know stadiums for any football fan – San Siro!