Paraguay and France fans come together for Philly’s final World Cup game
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As France and Paraguay prepared to kick off Philly’s final World Cup game on Saturday afternoon, a packed house of Paraguayan-Americans partied at Chickie’s & Pete’s in South Philly.
Dressed in their team’s red-striped jerseys, they waved Paraguayan flags, danced between tables in the dress of native Paraguayan Guarani people, and prayed for another underdog win following their squad’s improbable victory over Germany on Monday. But, it was not to be.
The raucous scene reflected “a lot of reinstated belief” in their national team, which hadn’t been in a World Cup since 2010, said Alex Benitez, a native of Paraguay who lives in Brooklyn and came down Saturday for the game.
“It’s kind of the passion that you really feel when you just get a lot of Paraguayans in a room,” said Benitez, who was wearing a Paraguayan flag as a cape. “We’re also a very small country, like 7 million people. So it doesn’t take much for us to get rowdy when you encounter something like this.”
Locals and visitors who didn’t have tickets to attend the match in person gathered in restaurants, bars and living rooms to hang out together as they cheered on their teams, sheltering in air conditioning or braving outdoor temperatures that hovered around 99 degrees as the game began.
Benitez said he felt “great” going into the game because the Paraguay squad performs better against good teams, but added that there was “a lot of anxiety that people don’t talk about” in the crowded bar as well.
“It comes off as very cheery, and ‘oh my god, everyone’s here,’ but I think the dancing and the hanging out and being out in the community is a way to kind of just ease that anxiety as well, especially ahead of a big match like France, who’s like one of the best teams in the world today,” he said.
Mirta Villalba, a Paraguay native who lives in Queens, acknowledged that Saturday’s contest was “a very tough match,” but said the Paraguayan players could have an advantage because they’re used to the heat.
“It’s very hot outside, but in Paraguay, it’s that hot in summer, autumn, and winter,” she said in Spanish. “We don’t really get cold weather — very little. I think that works in Paraguay’s favor, the scorching heat.”
Villalba came down with a group of friends specifically to visit Chickie’s & Pete’s, which she said had been rented out by Paraguay’s biggest newspaper and country’s consulate as the official watch party location. It was her first time in Philadelphia, and she thought the city was “beautiful,” she said.
As TV screens filled with singer Idina Menzel belting out the American national anthem ahead of the kickoff, a quieter scene played out a couple miles away at Bok Bar, where a screen showing the game had been set up at one end of the rooftop terrace.
Bok Bar hosted the official France team watch party for its game versus Iraq last month and was mobbed with fans. In the first few minutes of Saturday’s game about 25 people had settled in chairs under an awning to watch, including a few fans in crisp blue and white polos reading “Les Bleus,” the French team’s nickname.
One of them, Philly resident Gabrielle Swain, said she likes the team but had come along mostly to support her friend Ashley Boyle, “a huge soccer fan.”
“I just like seeing them score, and then, you know, I’ll cheer along,” she said. “But there’s some excitement today, so I just want be a part of that.”
She said they went to the FIFA Fan Fest at Lemon Hill to watch one of the previous games and had a good time. “Philly’s been really showing out, so I’ve been so happy to live here and experience all of the energy,” she said.
Boyle said she was delighted to hear about the excitement of the Paraguay fans — “That’s so cute. That’s why I love the World Cup. It’s just fun watching all this, all the fans out there” — but she herself was “Team France all the way.”
“They’re my team to win it this year. So I personally don’t think [Paraguay will win], but I think they’ll put up a good fight,” she said.
Danielle Braunton said she lives just a couple blocks from Bok, so she decided to get out of the house and brave the heat.
“We knew they were having a party, so we wanted to be with other people, and it’s kind of hot, and we thought we’d get a breeze up here,” she said.
“Mostly for the vibes,” said her husband, Adam, who is from England. “I don’t say we’re passionate supporters of either team, really, but it’s a fun thing to do.”
They agreed that the World Cup has been a good experience for Philadelphia.
“We’ve seen the BSL trains packed with supporters, but there’s lots of SEPTA staff around, and they’re waving people around the right places, and so they’ve done a really good job,” he said. “I’d say it’s been a success for the city. It’s sort of a nice atmosphere in this, definitely.”
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