World Cup passion takes over Fenway Park, Red Sox clubhouse
For a few minutes on Sunday, Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela was dreaming big about Curacao’s soccer team.
In its first-ever World Cup game, Curacao quickly fell behind Germany before Livano Comenencia scored a shock equalizer in the 21st minute.
“It was a great thing that we came back and scored,” said Rafaela, who doesn’t personally know any of the players from his native country but avidly followed the team’s progress in the qualifying rounds.
Alas, Germany scored the next six goals for a 7-1 victory. But Comenencia’s goal had Curacao in a frenzy according to media reports.
“It’s a really big deal for Curacao to get this far,” Rafaela said. “Everybody back home is talking about it. It’s exciting for the country.”
Across the Sox clubhouse, Marcelo Mayer was keeping track of the scores on the televisions in the center of the room.
The shortstop described himself as a fan of Mexico and the United States, as a nod to his heritage. He also roots for Argentina because of his admiration for Lionel Messi.
“I really like the way Spain plays, too,” he said. “It’s an exciting style. If there’s a game on, I’ll watch it.”
Mayer played club soccer in San Diego until he entered high school, when he focused on baseball.
“I was pretty good, but baseball was my sport,” he said. “I had to stick with that.”
It was the right decision considering Mayer became the fourth pick of the 2021 amateur draft and signed for $6.64 million. He made his major league debut last season.
But soccer is still part of his life. Mayer visited Spain during the 2022 offseason to see Barcelona play Valencia at the famed Camp Nou stadium.
“It was beautiful, really awesome,” Mayer said. “Barcelona is one of my favorite cities. I want to go back at some point.”
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Yutaro Yamaguchi, who works for the Sox as a Japanese translator, was following Japan’s match against the Netherlands on his phone while he was in the outfield with Masataka Yoshida.
Japan scored with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to escape with a 2-2 draw.
As Mayer went out for batting practice, Ranger Suarez was watching the Netherlands-Japan game in the clubhouse before the Sox played the Rangers.
Suarez, who is from baseball-obsessed Venezuela, is a fan of Argentina.
“Mostly because of Messi,” he said. “I like France and Spain, too. They have the best players. If there’s a game on, I’ll watch it. It’s fun.”
What seemed like several thousand blue-clad Scottish soccer fans were at Fenway Park for the game, walking en masse to the ballpark and taking up much of the bleachers. Many were waving Scotland’s flag.
Scotland beat Haiti, 1-0, in its first game of the tournament on Saturday in Foxborough.
“They’re everywhere,” Suarez said. “I like the atmosphere. It’s like a soccer game.”
The Red Sox marketing department, no fools they, had scheduled Sunday as Scottish Heritage Celebration Night around the World Cup.
The Scots are a singing bunch. They belted out “Country Roads Take Me Home” before the game along with “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” from the television show “Cheers.”
That was followed by a loud rendition of “Hey! Baby!” before the first pitch. Our fun new friends also fully embraced “Sweet Caroline” in the eighth inning, then “I’m Gonna Be” by the Scottish duo The Proclaimers.
There were chants throughout the Red Sox’ 6-4 loss to the Rangers, too. It was the loudest night at Fenway since the Wild Card Game victory against the Yankees in 2021.
“It was crazy,” Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said.
For two teams with losing records, it was a playoff atmosphere in June. Or, more accurately, a World Cup atmosphere.
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