Nick Posey is a sophomore pre-med student. He is a soccer fan and was thrilled to experience the World Cup in South America this year. Here he shares some of that experience.

2014 is the year of the 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup. Peru has only qualified three times in their history: 1970, 1978, and 1982. Though Peru did not qualify for this year’s tournament, the so-called World Cup fever was apparent throughout the country.

For the vast majority of their soccer history, Peru has been a nation of bystanders who shamelessly enjoy the tournaments from afar. The 2014 World Cup was more special for Peruvians than most recent tournaments because their eastern neighbor Brazil hosted the tournament. In general, Peruvians supported their Latin American neighbors, particularly Brazil and Argentina. This was most apparent during the Final contested by Germany and Argentina. The mall was full of people there to cheer on Argentina. This common sense of Latin American pride was a concept very different from anything we experience in the United States.

Although soccer in the United States is still a growing sport, its increased popularity was apparent even in Peru. The US was second behind Brazil in the number of tickets sold to matches at the 2014 World Cup. Many of the taxi drivers asked me how I felt about the United States performance at this year’s tournament. Since the US is not a leading soccer nation, most foreigners would assume that the average American tourist does not watch the sport. However, I was told by multiple locals that they were impressed with the United States’ performance.

Dallas Moore

Dallas Moore will begin his Senior year in the Fall. He is ready to go abroad for the first time, and be immersed into the language of Peru because he is a Spanish and Business Major. He has kayaked Cypress Creek on many occasion. Follow his blog as he checks out the Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca this summer.

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