BY ARIANNA HERMOSILLO AND RACHEL METEA, PHOTOS BY GRIZEL PRECIADO
The streets of Chicago were bursting at the seams last Friday to celebrate the beginning of one tournament and the end of another. Diehard Blackhawks fans waiting for the victory parade stopped to catch a glimpse of another major sport moment – a face-off between South Africa and Mexico in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup.
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Among the sea of red shirts of Blackhawks fans, the green and yellow jerseys of Mexican and South African fans cheered their little hearts out. These soccer aficionados made it out to Daley Plaza to watch the game on a big screen with their fellow countrymen. The South African Consulate, NASCAR and Café Media, among others, were out there with free goodies for the crowd.
In case you were wondering where all Chicago’s South Africans were on Friday, we think they were all in the plaza, with game faces on.
Lutho Magaqa, 22, wore a South African flag as a cape and a funky hat, looking more like a soccer super hero than your average fan.
“I thought it would be a good occasion,” said Magaqa grinning from ear to ear even after Mexico’s tying goal. “The sun is shining and I would rather be outside than indoors.”
He hopes for an African team to take the cup. “I expect the African teams to do very well so I am supporting all of the African teams,” said Magaqa.
The South African fans there were ride or die. For South Africa, hosting the World Cup is an immense source of pride for the country. We all know soccer isn’t big in the U.S. relative to the rest of the world. However, on Friday, the city’s international community was alive and raising the bar on fútbol spirit.
“I was born and raised in South Africa so I have to support the homeland,” said Chicagoan Nicky Glover, 35, originally from South Africa. When asked if she’d be supporting the U.S. team, Glover chuckled. “Maybe, but only a tiny bit because my husband is an American and I live here – but South Africa all the way.”
While Glover is rooting for South Africa, she said that it is too early to tell who will win the whole shebang. “There are a lot of good teams, but you just can’t predict right now.”
Chicago’s Mexican population makes up more than three-quarters of the city’s Latino population, and many were out there to cheer on El Tri.
“I just wanted to be somewhere where there was going to be a lot of people and a good atmosphere,” said Hedy Salgado, 28. “I wanted to be able to watch the Blackhawks [parade] and the Mexico team. This was the perfect spot.”
Salgado managed to take the day off of work to enjoy the festivities. She said she was keeping an eye out for her boss who also skipped work for the parade.
Under her Blackhawks t-shirt, Salgado sported her red, white and green. In a backpack, she stuffed a French soccer jersey to root for them at a later game and to top it off, she had a White Sox jersey in true South-sider fashion.
Zoliswa Mali is not a native to Chicago, but she’s a spirited South African no matter where she goes. Mali, 51, is visiting the South African Consulate in Chicago from Boston and managed to make it to root for her home country’s team.
“I’m a proud South African. I had to be here. I’m just overly excited. Bafana Bafana will win. It has to win,” Mali said during the game, referring to the South African team by its national nickname. While she may cheer on the U.S. because she lives here, her loyalty lies with her home team. “Bafana Bafana takes my whole heart as you can see,” she said as she traced a heart with the South African flag on her t-shirt.
The event was also a time for a diplomatic show of support. Gino Aceves, 51, watched the match with his co-workers from the Mexican Consulate. He predicted that the game would end in a tie or that Mexico would lose. Along with a Mexican baseball hat and jersey, Aceves also tucked a small South African flag behind his ear. He said he usually does it to promote fairness and sportsmanship at sporting events in which Mexico plays.
Despite the diversity in sport, team and country, Friday’s celebration proved fairness and spirit is still alive when uniting sport forces on city and global levels. High in the sky, Blackhawks fans left their cubicles to peer down and catch some of the action. Down on the streets, confetti blanketed the people and their emotions ran high. Many Blackhawks fans wandered through the plaza, enjoying the World Cup during and after the parade.
Chicago is undoubtedly ready for more of the World Cup.
This article was originally posted on Cafe Magazine’s website. Check the current issue of Café for some of our staff’s favorite spots all over the city to catch your teams.
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