I thoroughly enjoyed watching the FIFA World Cup over the past five weeks. It was fun, exciting and even a bit educational. Let’s hope the soccer fever continues in the U.S. for many years to come.

The last time the U.S. hosted a World Cup was in 1994. I was fortunate to be able to attend one of the matches at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The radio station I was working for at the time had an advertising deal with the Dallas tourism office, and we were given a complimentary package that included two tickets to a World Cup game and a free hotel room for one night.

Since the station owner knew I was a big soccer fan and practically the only person at the station that even cared about the sport, he gave the package to me to use. I invited a friend and off we went to Dallas to watch Sweden play Saudi Arabia on July 3, 1994.

We were just two of the 60,277 fans that crammed into the Cotton Bowl, and our seats were way up in the upper level; a long way away from the field. It was a hot summer day with no shade, but we endured the heat and had no intention of leaving early. Afterall, when would I ever have a chance to go to a World Cup match again?

It was a Round of 16 match, which Sweden won 3-1. Martin Dahlin put Sweden on the scoreboard early with a goal in the sixth minute. Then in the second half, Kennet Andersson scored in the 51st minute to put Sweden ahead, 2-0. Saudi Arabia’s Fahad Al-Ghesheyan broke free and scored in the 85th minute, but Sweden quickly answered with Andersson’s second goal of the match in the 88th minute to seal the win for the Blue and Yellow. We saw four yellow cards handed out in the game.

With the win, Sweden advanced to face Romania in the quarterfinals and won the match on penalty kicks, then lost to Brazil in the semifinals. Sweden defeated Bulgaria, 4-0, to win the third-place match.

THIS TIME AROUND

I had great hope that I would be able to attend a World Cup match here in the U.S. this time around however, it just didn’t work out. Afterall, if I have to wait another 32 years for the World Cup to return to U.S. soil, well, I likely won’t be alive then.

So why didn’t I go to a match here in the U.S.? Frankly, it was just too expensive and too difficult to get tickets. There was a lottery held months before the World Cup began allowing people to purchase limited tickets before they went on sale to the general public.

Individual ticket prices for most of the venues during the group stage began at $120 and that was for a limited number of seats way up at the top level of these huge stadiums. I would have purchased those if I could find them available in Kansas City or Dallas, but it just wasn’t the case. Most of the tickets available ranged from $410 – $620. Keep in mind, these prices were for games that did not involve the U.S., Canada or Mexico. Tickets to those games began at $560.

Anyway, I enjoyed watching about 80 percent of the matches from the comfort of my living room. I didn’t have to worry about the heat or the rain, and I saved hundreds of dollars. Of course I was rooting for the U.S. team, and they played very well throughout the group stage, however, just fell apart in the round of 16 match against Belgium.

After that, I didn’t really care who won, but I was pulling for France and Argentina because of family ties to both countries. Without Italy being in this World Cup, what else was I to do? Spain ended up beating Argentina, 1-0, in extra time in the final match.

In conjunction with the World Cup being held here in the U.S. in 1994, Major League Soccer was born and has proved to be a viable professional league for the past 32 years. I hope the bump in popularity from this year’s World Cup will help to increase the popularity of soccer in this country at all levels, but most especially for the MLS.

I haven’t been to an MLS match in over 15 years, but I have a renewed interest in watching the games on television and hopefully getting to a match in Kansas City or Dallas in the near future.

In 2030, World Cup matches will be held in several different countries. The tournament is planned to be jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup in 1930, a special match and celebration are scheduled to be held at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay, host stadium of the 1930 final, as well as one match each in Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Estadio Osvaldo Domínguez Dibb in Asunción, Paraguay. There is also a possibility that the North American countries will bid to host the World Cup in 2042.

With that many options, who knows, maybe I will get to see another World Cup match in person again in my lifetime.

TULSA BEACON RADIO

Tune in to “Tulsa Beacon Weekend” radio show every week, featuring interviews with local and national guests, talking about everything from politics to family issues. This week, my guests will include Gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei, and local author Elven Lindblad discussing his book, Tulsa Baseball History. The show airs on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CST on 970am KCFO.