I have never been a soccer fan; when people say football, I think of my favorite team, the Broncos, and fond memories of NFL Sundays. Despite this, the Uganda vs. Egypt World Cup Qualifier that we went to a few weeks ago was one of my favorite things we’ve done so far.
All 15 of us on my program got general entry tickets, and armed with the knock-off jerseys and vuvuzelas that we bought from street vendors, we blasted pump up music and made our way slowly through the typical Kampala traffic to the Nelson Mandela Stadium. The swarms around us heading to the stadium turned the usually lively streets into a living Ugandan flag of red, black, and yellow as everyone pushed their way up the paths to the stadium sporting their country’s colors.
Once we were inside the stadium, the real fun started. Everywhere we go in this country, shouts of “Muzungu,” the local term for any non-African, follow us, but the stadium was a whole other level. We couldn’t even walk ten feet to grab a soda without Ugandan’s stopping us to take selfies of the muzungus in bright red Ugandan jerseys. Everyone was excited to see us and the energy in the air was electric. The whole stadium was general seating, so we found some spots near the back, where there was less attention drawn to us, to make our base.
GOAL!!!!!! Even from our nosebleed seats, the noise was deafening as Uganda scored the first, and only goal of the game. We all jumped up, screamed, and danced as the locals around us celebrated. After the goal, we were swept up in the crowd and ended up in the front row, yelling at the players, side by side with the Ugandan’s that surrounded us.
People had stopped treating us as outsiders and for the first time since coming to the country we didn’t feel like we were being stared at. This feeling only intensified when the final buzzer rang and the score still stood at 1-0, with Uganda taking the big win. The stadium erupted, and everyone there yelled, stomped their feet, and made as much noise as possible to congratulate their team.
We all grinned ear to ear as we walked out of the stadium, singing victory songs, and high-fiving everyone we passed. I had an amazing time at the game and felt closer to this country that I love and the people in it. I guess it took me spending a semester on the other side of the world to become a soccer fan.