The weekend Philly turned yellow
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Philadelphia Stadium was awash in yellow on Sunday. Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Philadelphia bleeds green. This weekend, it turned yellow.
Why it matters: After years of planning to host the world's biggest sporting event, the globe's gaze fell on Philly — and Ecuador and Ivory Coast fans gave the city its first taste of World Cup fever.
State of play: Ecuador is considered the "sleeper" team of the tournament, but there was nothing sleepy about their fans' presence at Sunday's 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast.
- Philadelphia Stadium, which seats more than 69,000 fans, appeared near capacity — awash in yellow.
- La Tri's turnout, overwhelming a small contingent of orange and green, was striking, given that only about 15,000 people of Ecuadorian descent live in the Philadelphia region.
- The stadium thrummed every time Ecuador touched the ball — and fell silent when Ivory Coast broke the scoreless tie in the 90th minute.
Outside the stadium: World Cup-goers took a page from Eagles fans, setting up sprawling tailgates throughout the stadium parking lots, with flags staking out their territory.
- Car horns blared. Vuvuzelas buzzed. Fans decked out in colorful costumes roamed the streets, stopping to pose for selfies with strangers.
- At the FIFA Fan Fest in Lemon Hill, chants of "¡Vamos, Ecuatorianos!" rippled through the crowd.
- And the day before, Ecuador fans packed the Rocky steps for a massive pre-match rally.
In the stands: As one Ivory Coast fan made his way to his seat, an Ecuadorian supporter loudly booed in his ear. The fan laughed it off, just happy to be attending his first World Cup match.
- After Ecuador's frantic push to level the match fell short, an Ivory Coast fan taunted the yellow-clad crowd, chanting "Olé, Olé, Olé!"
Ecuador's head coach Sebastian Beccacece told Axios through a translator that he was devastated about not delivering a win for the fans.
- "It pains me, and it saddens me," he said. "I urge all of us to remain together, steadfast, even through all of this hardship."
Zoom out: Philadelphia's World Cup debut came amid sweltering heat, which peaked around 92 degrees.
- At the Fan Fest, families crowded beneath misting tents, claiming every available patch of shade and fanning themselves to stay cool.
- Others patiently waited in long lines for water or beer.
What they're saying: Not even an ankle injury could keep Gabriel Cobena from experiencing the World Cup.
- The 34-year-old Ecuadorian, who lives in New Jersey, hobbled more than a mile to soak up the atmosphere at Fan Fest before making his way to the stadium with the help of family and friends.
- "We were going to make it work one way or another," Cobena told Axios. "It's every kid's dream [growing up] to go to the World Cup."
