Some people may wonder why someone from Columbus, Ohio, USA would be cheering for the Brazilian World Cup Team so enthusiastically while in Osaka, Japan. That I will explain here on this page.

Some other people may be wondering why I look so serious and at the same time goofy and ridiculous in the picture on the left. That I will leave open to speculation.

My cheering for Brazil began in the 1994 USA hosted world cup when the USA was defeated by Brazil and Brazil later went on to defeat Italy in the finals. I was amazed by the passion and skill with which they played the game (especially since I'd never seen anyone care too much about soccer in the states).

Then in 1998 I was in Japan during the World Cup and traveling with a couple groups of Brazilians whom would wake me up at 3 am (or some other ungodly hour) to watch the Brazilian games with them. By that point I couldn't help but be infected by their vigorous cheering and I wound up becoming somewhat of a fanatic myself despite the fact that I knew virtually nil about the country and had never stepped foot upon Brazilian soil.

The later would change in December of 2000 when I went to visit some of my Brazilian friends whom I'd met on that trip to Japan. There I began to take a more serious liking to not only the soccer of Brazil (which impressed me with it's seriousness when I saw the steel fence and the 3 meters deep ditch that separated away fans, home fans, and players), but for the country itself and for the friends I made there.

Later I would end up meeting a couple of the friends I made in Brazil right here in Osaka, Japan. The picture on the left is of me and Erika (pictured above) and Marcelo (who's family ranch I was eating at) at Shin-Osaka Station. Unfortunately both of them have left the city since then and I wasn't able to watch any of the World Cup with them.

So I had to do the next best thing and attempt to find a Brazilian gathering place of some sort to watch the final match of the cup pitting Germany vs. Brazil. I ended up finding such a gathering place right here in the small town of Kayashima much to my surprise. And the pictures below are of the craziness which ensued during and after the game.