The Cup Runneth Over

It turns out that the World Cup team from Qatar, the country that hosted the previous quadrennial football (aka soccer in the US) championships, is not only training in Montecito at Westmont College for the June/July tournament, they’re also staying here. Contrary to widely-published reports that had the team and its entourage staying at the Courtyard Marriott in Goleta, the players, coaches, training staff and others are hunkering down at the ultra-luxurious Rosewood Miramar, even swankier digs than Austria’s big bucks bunks at the Bacara Resort (and more expensive, although that’s not an issue for one of the wealthiest countries in the world due to its massive reserves of petroleum and natural gas). Anyway, maybe that’s why the new gates and guard house were added recently to the Miramar’s main entrance?

Also contrary to reports, Qatar did hold a somewhat open practice session/meet-and-greet at Westmont last weekend, with about 400 soccer-loving kids and families in attendance. And Austria’s similar session at UCSB’s Harder was about eight times larger, with 3,000 folks watching the drills and then getting autographs and selfies. 

Will that mean some of our locals might have split affections when it comes for who to root for once the games begin? Shouldn’t be an issue, as neither the U.S. nor Mexico is slated to play Austria or Qatar in the preliminary round of 48. While Austria, with Real Madrid star David Alaba as its captain, is expected to reach at least the round of 32, Qatar is the lowest ranked team in the history of the World Cup based on ELO, although experts say they still might advance out of the weakest group in World Cup history. So who knows?

No word, as yet, whether any other sessions will be open to the public, although that seems highly doubtful at this point. But word keeps arriving on ways to watch some of the games in fun public places, including the Towbes Plaza at the downtown Public Library, which will host a free family-friendly event with the U.S. vs. Paraguay game live streamed on a state-of-the-art LED screen on Friday, June 12. Astroturf will be laid on the Plaza for the event, so bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnics as early as 5 pm. Same goes for June 25, when Team USA takes on Turkey.

Or you can head down to So-Fi Stadium for the match as more than 100 tickets remained available as of Monday, with thousands more on the re-sale sites, with some seats going for around $700, more than 30 percent off the original price. That’s only half of what a night at the Miramar runs on the slowest days.