I went to the FIH Field Hockey World Cup last night. India was playing Spain who are ranked 3rd in the world. Driving up to National Stadium in Delhi reminded me of when I went to Estadio Jalisco to watch a Chivas de Guadalajara match. Hordes of people, tons of noises and complete lack of order. You had to go through about 4 different security checks and then finally you made it in. At the last minute, they decided to take everyone's change from their wallets. I looked at the bin and you could feed an entire Indian state with the amount of money that was in it. But something tells me that all that money is not going to feed the poor. The funniest part of the security process is that right outside of the gates to get into the actual stadium there is a concession stand that sells fast food. When you buy a soda they put a lid on it like normal, but as soon as you walk the 10 steps to the stadium entrance they force you to take the lid off. The whole thing was bizarre.
The game was fantastic. Even though India lost, you can't beat listening to Bhangra music while watching a live sport with thousands of screaming Indians. Again, I felt so proud to be Indian while watching the match and wanted desperately for India to win so people could hopefully keep on smiling long after the game ended. Unfortunately that didn't happen, but the whole experience validated my belief that India making the soccer World Cup one day will transform the mood of this country. I've included a few pictures of some of the passionate Indian fans in the stands.
I went to the FIH Field Hockey World Cup last night. India was playing Spain who are ranked 3rd in the world. Driving up to National Stadium in Delhi reminded me of when I went to Estadio Jalisco to watch a Chivas de Guadalajara match. Hordes of people, tons of noises and complete lack of order. You had to go through about 4 different security checks and then finally you made it in. At the last minute, they decided to take everyone's change from their wallets. I looked at the bin and you could feed an entire Indian state with the amount of money that was in it. But something tells me that all that money is not going to feed the poor. The funniest part of the security process is that right outside of the gates to get into the actual stadium there is a concession stand that sells fast food. When you buy a soda they put a lid on it like normal, but as soon as you walk the 10 steps to the stadium entrance they force you to take the lid off. The whole thing was bizarre. 
The game was fantastic. Even though India lost, you can't beat listening to Bhangra music while watching a live sport with thousands of screaming Indians. Again, I felt so proud to be Indian while watching the match and wanted desperately for India to win so people could hopefully keep on smiling long after the game ended. Unfortunately that didn't happen, but the whole experience validated my belief that India making the soccer World Cup one day will transform the mood of this country. I've included a few pictures of some of the passionate Indian fans in the stands.
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