$21 Beer and a Theater Press Center: Los Angeles Goes Into World Cup Fever
Watch the report by Idan Kuevler, Walla Sport's correspondent for the World Cup / Walla News staff
Los Angeles is used to being at the center of the stage: Hollywood, the upcoming Olympics, the Oscars and the Super Bowl. But in recent days, the city has taken on a new identity, the global capital of soccer. The streets are not yet flooded with tens of thousands of fans, as will happen starting tomorrow, but the feeling is already there. At the airport, in hotels, on the light rail and in restaurants, you can hear Spanish, English, Portuguese and other languages from around the world. Los Angeles may be the American city best suited to host a World Cup, a city of immigrants, cultures and giant communities from almost every country taking part in the tournament.
But if there is one thing that symbolizes the difference between a World Cup in the United States and a World Cup anywhere else in the world, it is the prices. On an impromptu tour I took last night at the stadium in Los Angeles, a fan who wants to buy a beer during the match will have to part with $18.50 for a Michelob Ultra or Pacífico. Those who prefer a craft beer will already pay $19.50. And that is before moving on to hard liquor. A single shot of vodka, whiskey or tequila costs $21.25. An upgraded, premium version of those drinks rises to $23.25. Anyone asking for a double will already pay $27 to $30 a cup. By comparison, for the price of two beers at the stadium, you can buy a full meal in many parts of the United States. Even water is not especially cheap, at $5.25 a bottle.
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A sight to behold / Idan Kuevler
There are also surprises behind the scenes of the tournament: FIFA's media center at the Los Angeles stadium is actually the adjoining performance hall, and instead of endless rows of plastic tables in a drab convention center, journalists from around the world work from the stage of a modern theater, with professional lighting, giant screens and a view of the stands and the orchestra level. But in the end, the hope is for concerts on the pitch: for the United States, the opening match against Paraguay is much more than a group-stage game. It is a chance to show the world how much American soccer has advanced since the last World Cup held in the country in 1994. The Americans have invested billions in infrastructure, academies and the development of the sport. The national team stars play in Europe's top leagues, and public expectations are higher than ever. For many here, it is not enough to host the tournament successfully. The national team must also deliver results.
That is why the pressure around the match against Paraguay is clearly felt. A win for Mauricio Pochettino's team could ignite a huge wave of excitement across the country. A draw or a loss would immediately put the team under pressure from the very start. And as in every World Cup, and especially this one, there are also matches whose significance goes far beyond football. One of them will be the meeting between Iran and New Zealand: on paper, it is a game between two teams trying to pick up points in the group stage. In practice, it is also a meeting that comes against the backdrop of one of the most sensitive periods in relations between Iran and the West in recent years.
The interest in the Iranian team is not limited to what happens on the pitch. Iranian fans are expected to arrive from all over the United States, and it will be interesting to see which symbols and flags appear in the stands. FIFA has banned the old Iranian flag, the one waved by regime opponents. In previous tournaments, Iran's matches have often also become a stage for expressions of different political identities within the Iranian diaspora, and all the more so this time.
And that may be the biggest story of the World Cup as a whole: whether it is a fan spending $20 on a beer, a journalist broadcasting from a theater converted into a media center, Americans dreaming of a historic breakthrough, or Iranian fans arriving with the political baggage of the Middle East, the World Cup is much more than a soccer game. And at least here in Los Angeles, a day before the official ball starts rolling, it already feels like the whole world has come to one city.
