A Vivrant Field Report at the World Cup in New York
On the streets chatting to the people about What Makes The World Cup So Special?
Hey everyone.
Today’s article is a special one for me as I share my first Vivrant Field report video and launch of the Vivrant YouTube channel.
I headed out to New York for 5 days to film what was going on with the World Cup and the afterglow of the New York Knicks NBA championship win. I was getting FOMO after seeing what the city was like when the Knicks won, even though I’m an Orlando Magic fan, but NYC is such a special place to me and for basketball. More to come on that next week as the first video is about seeing the World Cup come to life in one of the host cities. I had FOMO seeing it all unfold, less about going to the games, although that would have been nice if it was affordable, but what happens around the games in the host cities as people embrace the local culture and mix with fans from around the world.
With New York home to many different communities, cultures and diaspora from around the world I knew I had to be there. In a moment of genius or madness, on Thursday 2nd July I booked my flight, went out and bought an Osmo Pocket 3, didn’t take it out till the Friday at my airport hotel and then spent the Saturday flight watching tutorials. From there I spent 5 days speaking to fans across the bars, watch parties, fan zones, bodegas, bagel shops and sports stores to ask them What Makes the World Cup so Special?
In this video you’ll see me chat to fans at the House of Goal in Brooklyn where I watched Paraguay vs France. The next day I was in Time Square before Brazil vs Norway, watching the game with Brazil fans in the Football Factory Legends Bar. I had to give myself the night off to watch England vs Mexico which after planning to watch in a West Village bar that become uncomfortably crowded, ended up with me watching on Telemundo in Spanish where an incredible game was matched with commentary where most of the words were not understood, but the feeling certainly was and it made for a great viewing experience. The game of the tournament Argentina vs Egypt was watched at the very impressive adidas Soccer City at the Brooklyn Bridge Park where it looked like Lionel Messi’s World Cup time was over, until he and his team showed they should never be written off. The shift in emotion for the small group of Egypt fans from oh my god this is happening to, oh no, is this happening? when Argentina levelled and then won it showed how football has such a hold on emotions. The scenes at the end where the bulk of the crowd were Argentina fans was one of celebration and relief, with heart felt respect moments shared between both nations.
New York is one of my favourite cities and I visit often, but this time there was a buzz I’ve not felt before. The afterglow of the New York Knicks win is still there and explains some of it, which you’ll see in the second Vivrant Field Report. The excitement for the tournament was real and it wasn’t just from the visiting Norway fans who stole the hearts and minds of the city. Nor the England fans or Mexican and South American communities and diaspora. The USA fans seemed genuinely excited to show the world how far things have come since 1994.
There are 14 different people featured in the film, while many more were spoken to in those in between moments at a bar, buying a coffee or picking up a bagel. This trip felt a gamble at the time, but knowing creating video content for this Substack is something I want to explore, the World Cup felt as good a time as any to start and the resulting film felt so fulfilling to make. Loads to improve on and video 1 will look different to video 10 and beyond, but I’m happy with the results and hope you enjoy it. Hopefully it either reflects your own experiences if you went to any World Cup host cities, or it gives you a sense of what it was like. I’m just pointing the camera and asking the questions, it’s the people that make the film what it is. Those chats on camera and off showed no matter how imperfect the world is, football brings people together and shows how close and alike we really are.
These are the moments I’ll cherish.