Retroist World Cup ’94 Memories

I want to start off by saying I don’t know much about soccer or as I think most of the rest of the world calls it football. But with the World Cup back in the United States I thought this would be a nice opportunity to talk about my time working security at the World Cup the first time it was played in America back in 1994. I was very young at the time, but it was great job to get. It might not have taught me much about how soccer is played, but I did finally get an idea of how rabid the fans are.

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On the show, I start by talking about my limited exposure to soccer growing up. I then move on to the 1994 tournament, how it was presented to an American audience, and some of the strange details surrounding it. This will be a little different than other episodes of the Retroist. Most of the episode is about how I got the security job at Giants Stadium, the different assignments I was given, the people I encountered, and what it was like to be close to such a large event without really understanding the sport being played.

The 1994 World Cup was far more successful than many people expected and helped establish professional soccer in the United States. I cannot claim that working there turned me into a fan, but it gave me a much better understanding of what the tournament meant to the people who traveled to see it. It was loud, chaotic, and unlike anything else I had worked before. Also it gave us a solid pinball machine and a great mascot.

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• This is the 367th episode of the Retroist Podcast and episode 18 of Season 18.

• I worked every match at Giants Stadium and still could not have told you which teams were expected to win.

• I had so many extra tickets that I could barely give away. That seems impossible now.

• Wish I had brought an autograph book or small camera with me.

• Speaking some German apparently helped me get hired, although I do not remember using it once. I also tried to speak some Norwegian. Europeans are much better at English.

• I gave away most of the World Cup memorabilia I collected because it meant more to people who actually followed soccer.

• Finding Andrés Cantor’s missing briefcase was probably my closest brush with World Cup fame or at least he was a person I knew about before the game. I probably walked by some amazing athletes. I just didn’t know who they were.

• My family lived near Giants Stadium and remembers almost nothing about the tournament beyond the fact that I worked there.

• Security in 1994 was mostly concerned with alcohol, bags, and people trying to get onto the field. It was a very different time.

• The World Cup paid me about twice what I was making at Suncoast, which certainly helped me appreciate it.

• The stamp controversy is such a New Jersey story. Always a bridesmaid.

• Bonus clippings will run a little late this episode, but will be over on Patreon soon for Supporters.

• Music on the show is, as always, by Peachy.

Thanks for listening to the show and I hope you have a great weekend.