Panama’s World Cup Debut

I just watched Panama’s first ever World Cup game in a room packed with some 35 Panamanians. I can only describe the experience as being thrust into some alternative reality – something like what I felt in a room full of LSD-tripping people at Stan Grof’s workshop at Esalen.

As the Panama Anthem was played, the entire room jumped to it’s collective feet and sang at FULL throttle. People on the TV were crying, the announcers were crying, people in the room were crying and I was crying. It was such a moment of national pride that their team had even gotten to the games. It was overwhelming.

I now understand why the announcer talk at full scream and beyond – so they can be heard over the audience. They were so clearly partisan it was frightening. Nothing good to say about Belgium – they always seemed to miss goal by a mile, while the Panama team was OH so close. Whenever the ball got to the Belgian side of the field, their voices hit frantic levels.

I was struck by how theatrical players became when they felt they’d been fouled. They fall to the ground grimacing so hard that I was sure they’d never get up. Of course, they jumped up smiling as soon as the foul was called. I was assured by my friends (with a smile) that this is just part of the game. I should note that this is the first soccer game I’ve ever seen start to finish.

At the end of the first half, the score was 0 – 0 and the crowd jumped and cheered as though in victory. I was informed that, against a far superior and experienced team like Belgium, a tie was just as good as victory. From my limited view, it did seem like Panama had controlled the ball better, with 63% possession time.

As there are no commercials during play, the advertisers compensate with a full 12 minutes of non-stop ads at half time. Virtually all were for fast food (Pizza Hut, McDonalds etc), banks pushing personal loans or new cars. None of which speak well for Panama’s future.

My other note is that cursing in English (esp Fuck and Shit) seems to be an international language. If my lip-reading skills are at all accurate.

The second half caught me off-guard when the teams came out in different uniforms and went downhill from there as Belgium scored 3 goals to none for Panama. With each Belgian goal, there was more head shaking and less enthusiasm. 

As the clock ran out, the room got really quiet and everybody made a fast exit. The only phrase, repeated often, was “Wait for Sunday. Wait for Sunday” – when Panama will play it’s second World Cup game vs England. They are 8 to 1 underdogs.