VANCOUVER — Four years ago, Chris Gutierrez spent his nights in a converted shipping container in the sweltering heat of Qatar as he followed the Canadian men's World Cup journey. The makeshift accommodations were created in so-called fan villages to house international spectators like Gutierrez, who made the 20-hour trip to Doha with a handful of other Calgary soccer superfans.
On Thursday, that international adventure came full circle in Canada's first ever World Cup win — a 6-0 thrashing of Qatar — on home turf, inside the comfortable environs of BC Place stadium. Gutierrez was seated in the upper tier among Canada's boisterous Voyageurs, the aptly named travelling fan group whose local members are logging many hours and thousands of kilometres between games.
“I was blown away. The stadium was great. The atmosphere was good and everybody was really into it,” said Gutierrez, who returned home Friday on an early flight.
Atmosphere was great
Another Calgarian in the sold-out crowd of 52,497 was Tasos Doganis, who brought his nine-year-old son — and a large drum — to the party. “The atmosphere was great inside. It was loud. Everyone was friendly and into it,” said Doganis, who was with Gutierrez and fellow Calgarian Craig MacTavish in Qatar four years ago.
The Calgary contingent, wearing white western hats, joined the raucous Last Mile march to the stadium two hours before kickoff. “It was just all around a really fun time,” said Doganis.
FIFA offered supporters clubs a limited number of $88 tickets for one Canadian game before the tournament, which allowed Gutierrez, Doganis and the vocal Voyageurs members to be seated together. “It was nice to be able to stand and sing my heart out. And the reason I love doing that is it gets you invested in the game,” said Gutierrez. “The highs are higher, the lows are lower when you’re investing so much of your energy into that experience.”
MacTavish, who was in Toronto for Canada's opening 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina, has watched many soccer games in Vancouver. The atmosphere and post-game celebrations Thursday was unlike anything he’s seen in the city previously. “It’s a completely different vibe there. You’re in the usual spots you’re used to going but it’s completely different. Sometimes when you go to a game in Canada the fans aren’t into it, or they’re not hardcore soccer fans, but everybody (Thursday), they all knew the assignment,” said MacTavish. “It was like they maybe didn’t know the chants or the songs but people are getting loud, people are learning stuff, everybody’s wearing red.”
