It’s going to be sleepless month for 36-year-old Sudeep Thapa because he is someone who hasn’t missed a single World Cup match since he was 20 years old and, this time around too, he is going to make sure he watches every game. 

“But, thankfully, I will at least be able to get a few hours of sleep before I have to leave for work during this World Cup because the game timings are pretty decent,” says Thapa who, during the 2014 World Cup, missed four days of work because he was too tired or, in other words, still inebriated the next morning.

The most anticipated event of 2018 is finally here and with it the enthusiasm among Nepalis is at an all time high, so much so that many are actually already tweaking their work schedule to accommodate the World Cup routine. And this seems to be true for even those who aren’t otherwise actual fans of football. 

Marketing executive Arpita Chhetri says she hasn’t watched a single football match since the 2014 World Cup but she is all geared up to watch her favorite team, Portugal, ‘beat every other team and lift the trophy’ this year. The 31-year-old says that the thought of football never excites her except when its time for the World Cup. She has already spoken to her boss about working from home on days she thinks she will be too tired to go to work after having slept late post a match. 

“There is just something about the World Cup that is irresistible. Maybe it’s the fact that the whole world in watching this event. It becomes a shared experience and you don’t want to miss out,” says Chhetri adding that her football fanatic friends have elaborate plans of watching every single match and have booked tables for 10 people or so at different venues already on specific dates. 

Chhetri’s friend, Suman Ranjit, who was out buying World Cup merchandise when The Week caught up with him, confirmed that he was the one who picked out the venues where he and his friends could watch a few ‘important’ matches. “By important I mean the ones where our favorite teams are playing,” says Ranjit further explaining that he and his friends have plans of going to Dhulikhel or Nagarkot to watch the World Cup final. 

“But that depends on which teams are playing the final match. If Argentina isn’t one of them, then I’m definitely not going,” he clarifies. And the same holds true for Chhetri as well who is planning to make the trip only if Portugal is one of the two teams playing the final World Cup match. 

The Week asked 80 people to name their favorite team and Argentina, Portugal, Brazil, and Germany were some of the most common answers we got. France, Spain, and Belgium also occasionally popped up. And six people even said they were rooting for Japan. They simply wanted the World Cup trophy to come to Asia.

One thing that was consistent, despite the varied answers, was the fact that everybody seemed to have a backup team in mind, should their team lose out early on in the tournament. 36-year-old Thapa too says he wouldn’t mind the trophy going to Japan, if not to his favorite team, that is Brazil. Ranjit says he will support Spain if Argentina doesn’t make it very far but he also quickly adds that the chances of Argentina losing this year seem very slim. 

The World Cup also seems to be giving extended families a reason to come together. 45-year-old Roshan Shrestha says that he has already invited his cousins, along with their spouses and children, for dinner this weekend where they will be watching Argentina play against Iceland. And since most of his family members are ardent supporters of Argentina, he presumes it’s going to be a good night.

“One of my cousins has invited us over to his place for dinner in the coming week to watch another match. After that, my sister wants us at her place to watch Germany play Sweden. We will just be hopping from one home to another for the next month,” says Shrestha adding that this way they will not have to spend a lot of money at fancy restaurants and will also get to watch the game away from the rowdy crowd. 

However, rowdy crowd is the point, says 21-year-old Pratyush Basnet who plans to watch the World Cup at various places in Durbar Marg and Thamel. According to the college-goer, this is the only time when his parents can’t and won’t question his whereabouts and he intends to make full use of that opportunity. 

“It’s not like I’ll be partying it up and getting into trouble or anything. I will be watching football. I love Brazil. My parents know how crazy I’m about football and this team in particular. But if I can party while watching football, what’s the harm in that?” he says, smirking away at his ingenuity. 

His friend Ritesh Manandhar shares similar sentiments. According to him, the World Cup provides a leeway to return home late or even stay over at his friends’ house. And he wouldn’t want to spend this time being cooped up at home, watching the matches on a small screen television when he can easily enjoy them on big screens for a nominal fee at most places around town. 

“My parents know this is an important time and they won’t tell me not to go out. I’ll also get to ask for more money without having to give too many details about what I need it for,” says Manandhar adding that he and four of his friends have put in Rs 1000 each in an envelope at the start of the World Cup and that this envelope will go to person whose team will eventually win the trophy. They are certain the winner will be one of the five teams they are individually supporting which are Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Portugal, and France.

“We are a group of six people but one of our friends isn’t in on the game so he didn’t put in his share of the money in the envelope. He is supporting England,” says Manandhar with a laugh.

 
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