When we woke up yesterday, we heard a helicopter and police activity outside our hotel room and down the street in the distance. We heard the news of a terrible tragedy of a mass shooting that occurred. We learned by the details later that we were not in any immediate danger. The FIFA Fan Fest would be cancelled however the Opening Game would proceed as planned. A heavy way to start the day and this tournament.
The Opening Game took place at 7 p.m. at Eden Park with New Zealand vs. Norway. The doors opened at 4:30 p.m. and we knew we wanted to be there as soon as the gates opened. With some time to burn, and since the weather was still pretty decent (rain is coming) we decided to go up to the telecommunications and observation tower called the Sky Tower. It stands at 1,076 feet tall making it the second tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere. It has an observation area on the 53rd and 60th floors with 360 degree views. It was well worth it to see Auckland from all angles, its prominent buildings and views of the water.
After the Sky Tower, we had a some lunch to fuel our bodies and get ready for our first World Cup Match. Fans can use Auckland’s public transportation for free to get to games. For us that meant a short walk to the Britomart train station and hopping on the Western Line to the Kingsland stop. Once we got to Eden Park with about 20 minutes to spare, the excitement started to build outside the gates seeing the FIFA signage and the staff prepping for what would surely be long lines at the stores selling souvenirs. At 4:30 pm promptly the wait was finally over and we walked in and began to take it all in.
Your Captain is Our Captain
For us Angel City fans this game had a special meaning beyond being the Opening Game of the World Cup. The captain of the New Zealand Football Ferns is named Ali Riley. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and is the captain of our very own Angel City Football Club. Her father is from Christchurch, New Zealand. We wore our Angel City gear to ensure all the Football Fern fans knew we were there to support their team and their captain.
We walked the entire Eden Park stadium and the excitement continued to build and I personally enjoyed seeing a trip that was so many months in the planning come to fruition and was beaming the whole time. The Opening Game ceremony had so many elements including depicting the rich history of the Māori people who are the indigenous Polynesian people of Aotearoa New Zealand. It also celebrated the 32 nations who have qualified for the tournament. It had music, dance groups and fireworks.
Game Time
The game was closely matched early on there was no score going into the second half. I was happy for the Football Ferns, ranked 26th to hold off the 12th ranked Norwegian team. In the 48th minute after a beautiful cross Hannah Wilkinson scored in the 48th minute. GOOOAAALLLLL!!!! The crowd went crazy and so did we. Now we would just have to hold them and that we did. The Ferns did a great job of controlling the second half and Norway had so many chances and just couldn’t pull off a goal. Throughout the game we heard a group starting chants for the Ferns which was one of my favorite parts of the match. Let’s Go New Zealand! Let’s go Aotearoa (Au-tee-uh-row-uh)! At 90 minutes, the Ferns were still ahead at 1-0 and had 9 minutes of stoppage time to hold off Norway. It was a long nine minutes! The whistle blew and the entire Football Ferns team ran onto the field hugging one another as they just made history. This was New Zealand’s first World Cup tournament win in history. Our captain, Ali Riley was interviewed and overcome with emotion for what this meant to her, the team and the nation. The moment that gave me goosebumps was when all the players and staff had pretty much cleared the pitch and Ali walked alone to the center and just looked up to the sky and then down to hold her face with emotion. What. A. Moment.
