I leave for Qatar tomorrow (1 Viewer)

[DA RAIDERS]

the lady did the hand eagle thingy.

What means this?

 

[Zigg]

the lady did the hand eagle thingy.

What means this?

I think it’s a political gesture made to piss off Serbs. Believe it represents the eagle on the Albanian flag.

Shaqiri and Xhaka got in a bit of trouble for doing it in 2018.

 

[AAABatteries]

@Zigg - what knockout matches do you have? Are you trying to buy more? Have you seen any scalpers?

 

[Zigg]

@Zigg - what knockout matches do you have? Are you trying to buy more? Have you seen any scalpers?

There is a ticketing centre with huge lines. Online and resale are available as well. It’s nice that you can only sell for the original price through fifa. I don’t think there’s enough demand for scalpers. But knock out stage might change that.

If Canada had advanced, I would have tried to get tickets, but this is my last match. I fly out Monday morning. If I was staying longer I would have tried to buy more.

 

[Zigg]

Leaving for the match soon. My last, hopefully not America’s last. I had a great time. Sorry Frosty, but I’ve seen 3 Shake Shacks so far, and I assume there’s at least one more. I hope you get one in Minny one day. Double burger and cheese fries was $16. That’s probably just the burger in Vegas. I appreciate the prices here. Very reasonable.

 

[QuizGuy66]

Safe travels Zigg!
-QG

 

[The Z Machine]

Very cool travelog, @Zigg . Thanks for sharing.

 

[krista4]

Yep, loved this thread. Thanks for doing it! Hope you've made it home safely and will be able to post some pics.

 

[mr. furley]

updates??

 

[Zigg]

Tournament ended ok I guess.

I’ve been lazy since I returned. A little jet lag which I’ve embraced rather than fight. Still going to bed around 6-7.

The trip cost roughly $12k total Canadian. About $3k Canadian for flight. $207/night for 14 days American. Tickets to 13 matches $2850 American. Spent roughly 1k American while there.

Most frightening part was first flight Vancouver-Seattle. They required proof of vaccination which caught me off guard. Luckily I had a picture on my phone which they accepted. Could have been a disaster.

Qatar airways is very nice. Fed me well and would have no problem flying with them again. Business class looks incredible. Doha airport(HIA) was average. I imagine they bought all the awards they receive. Nothing wrong with it, but heavily caters to business flyers. Was shocked not to go through customs. Just scanned my passport and jumped on the metro through the nothing to declare exit.

Doha is a lovely city. Tried to keep an open mind. The museums were beautiful, and I had a great time at Souq Waqif. Not exactly a dream destination, but a nice place to spend a couple days. Really enjoyed the food, but I’m far from picky.

The stadiums were wonderful. Excellent sight lines for each game I attended. Getting out took a while, but that wasn’t shocking. Concessions were garbage, but fairly priced garbage. How I regret not having the opportunity to watch Messi, but I saw some wonderful games. Ecuador v Senegal was my favourite. You know it’s a wonderful sport when those two nations provide your best memories.

I wish they had done a bit more with my container, but it did its job. The supermarket and metro transfer were nice surprises. The quality of the container, and lack of hot water were disappointing. Mediocre at best, but didn’t spend much time in it.

All in all, I couldn’t ask for much more from the experience. I even met a lovely woman. Feel very fortunate that I was able to watch that much quality football over such a short period of time. Would do it again in a second.

I wonder, do any of you wish you made an effort to go? Obviously the destination was
suspect, but the event wasn’t.

Thank you for letting me talk about my experiences.

 

[Zigg]

What is the best way to share pictures? I’m not really a social media guy.

 

[Dezbelief]

What is the best way to share pictures? I’m not really a social media guy.

Imgur is fairly easy to figure out.

 

[Corporation]

I'll be going in 26 for sure. Would definitely like to see a game in Canada and perhaps Mexico. Atlanta is a given for me but I may think about Dallas as well.

 

[FairWarning]

I don’t care about soccer but was very interested in the OP’s travels to a country that isn’t well-known. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[nirad3]

I'll be going in 26 for sure. Would definitely like to see a game in Canada and perhaps Mexico. Atlanta is a given for me but I may think about Dallas as well.

I'm already planning to go to Kansas City with a great friend. Long weekend of soccer and BBQ, what could be better?

 

[The Z Machine]

The question is which one(s) of us will quit their job to see as many games as possible in person? Maybe some of you guys will be retired and have enough scratch to do it right.

 

[FairWarning]

The question is which one(s) of us will quit their job to see as many games as possible in person? Maybe some of you guys will be retired and have enough scratch to do it right.

I will end up a WalMart greeter Until I die. Nice career path, eh?

 

[Capella]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

LA corn hole? i'm in SoCal. so that's the easiest for me.

 

[The Z Machine]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

Dude, I will fly wherever I get tickets. However many games I can get.

 

[krista4]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

That is going to be an insanely expensive trip. Wow, I'm impressed! Stop by and see us in the Seattle area.

 

[Capella]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

That is going to be an insanely expensive trip. Wow, I'm impressed! Stop by and see us in the Seattle area.

Would love that! And yes, we are planning/setting aside now. Figured it will be once in a lifetime and a good way to show our son the country and these games.

 

[krista4]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

That is going to be an insanely expensive trip. Wow, I'm impressed! Stop by and see us in the Seattle area.

Would love that! And yes, we are planning/setting aside now. Figured it will be once in a lifetime and a good way to show our son the country and these games.

Fantastic opportunity for that. Trip of a lifetime for sure!

 

[Zegras11]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

Son and I are considering something very similar..

 

[3C's]

East coast here. Philly, Boston, NY, and Toronto doesn't quite have the same appeal as LA, San Fran, Seattle, and Vancouver. Maybe dropping Philly helps.

 

[General Malaise]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

Are you just going to look for tickets on the secondary markets/scalpers? Curious how tickets will work. This should be an incredible trip. If you've not traversed the 101 north from San Francisco, I hope you consider. Time may not be on your side for this, but the Redwoods are well worth it. Been fortunate to see some amazing natural wonders in this country; I think I'd put the Redwoods near the top of that list. You can jump back over to I5 at Grants Pass and make up the lost time.

 

[General Malaise]

I'm going to try and hit a game or two in Seattle and I don't really care who plays. In fact, I'm hoping for something like Zigg experienced with Ecuador/Senegal. I want to watch the fans as much as I want to watch the game.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I wish you guys all great luck for 2026. It will be a fun party every where if you can get tickets.

It was hard getting tickets back in 1994, and we had almost zero soccer culture here in the country back then. The landscape has obviously changed greatly and I expect demand to be significantly higher this time around but I expect ticket prices are going to keep things in check such that if your are willing to spend you will be able to attend.

I am very interested to see how they arrange ticket sales. In 1994, if memory serves, they had package deals where you could get tickets to follow one team, or tickets for every game in one stadium..,things like that.

 

[krista4]

I wish you guys all great luck for 2026. It will be a fun party every where if you can get tickets.

It was hard getting tickets back in 1994, and we had almost zero soccer culture here in the country back then. The landscape has obviously changed greatly and I expect demand to be significantly higher this time around but I expect ticket prices are going to keep things in check such that if your are willing to spend you will be able to attend.

I am very interested to see how they arrange ticket sales. In 1994, if memory serves, they had package deals where you could get tickets to follow one team, or tickets for every game in one stadium..,things like that.

People offered me free tix for all the Chicago matches in 1994, so I didn't have an idea of what the demand was. I just remember it being very fun to go. Now I'm in Seattle, and tix seem like they will be impossible. I remember going out to meet friends at a bar within a couple of months of moving here (2014), and the place was SRO and jam-packed. I couldn't figure out why, and then realized everyone was there to watch the Sounders. I mean, just a regular-season match, nothing important. People love their soccer here.

 

[Capella]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

Are you just going to look for tickets on the secondary markets/scalpers? Curious how tickets will work. This should be an incredible trip. If you've not traversed the 101 north from San Francisco, I hope you consider. Time may not be on your side for this, but the Redwoods are well worth it. Been fortunate to see some amazing natural wonders in this country; I think I'd put the Redwoods near the top of that list. You can jump back over to I5 at Grants Pass and make up the lost time.

Thanks. We definitely want to see the redwoods, very high on my to-do list.

Will try for any lotto system they have and after that, yea we’ll be going secondary. I’m getting into these games so we’ll just have to pay it. I have season tickets to the Bucs and Bolts right now so I’ll probably cancel those for 2026 lol.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

I just signed up on fifa that I’m interested in tickets. Had to send an envelope of cash. Should work!

 

[The Gator]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

Save room for a +1 and pick me up between LA and SF

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

Save room for a +1 and pick me up between LA and SF

we could have pretty good CA group

 

[Zow]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

Save room for a +1 and pick me up between LA and SF

we could have pretty good CA group

I'm interested as well.

 

[Capella]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

Save room for a +1 and pick me up between LA and SF

This would rule.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

West coast FBG FC

 

[Dickies]

I'm definitely going to try hitting a game in SF (Santa Clara). Don't really care who plays.

 

[The Z Machine]

I've got friends / family in Boston, Philly, Atlanta, Dallas-Houston (Austin), Miami (Orlando), Los Angeles, SF, DF.

But I'll go anywhere to watch a match.

 

[massraider]

I am planning on using this as an excuse to hit Vancouver. If I get tickets, great. If not, it will still be a total blast.

 

[mr. furley]

Unless you are willing to bounce around all over the continent which would be pretty expensive and time consuming.

We are going to fly into La and go to games there, San Fran, seattle and Vancouver while driving up the west coast. Assuming the schedule allows us to work it out that way.

Save room for a +1 and pick me up between LA and SF

definitely do this @Capella

 

[NewlyRetired]

ESPN FC
https://twitter.com/espn
@ESPNFC

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