Source : ABC NEWS
They were just supposed to be somewhere to watch the match. World Cup viewing parties have ended up becoming so much more.
It’s quiet, then loud.
By now, so many Australians know the rhythm.
A shuffling walk down suburban streets in the typically early morning chill.
The warm glow of a business — maybe a favourite pub or cafe — not normally open at such odd hours.
Then, a blast of noise and life.
Weak projectors and strong cups of coffee.
SBS on the telly.
Tension and exhilaration.
Strangers just moments ago, now bound by a joyous communal bond.
As the nation eagerly awaits another pre-dawn kick-off, World Cup watch parties are in danger of becoming a beloved national pastime.
Large scale live sites like Melbourne’s Federation Square have become staging points for some of the most euphoric Socceroos and Matildas moments.
They are only part of the picture.
The World Cup is now the scaffolding within which something far bigger is being built.
On a smaller but no less lively scale, the tournament has prompted Australians all over to congregate in neighbourhood community settings.
“We are human beings, we like to enjoy ourselves, we like a good party,” Emeritus professor of Cultural Research at Western Sydney University, David Rowe said.
“It is, in some ways, a vehicle for avoiding alienation from each other. There is a shared cultural practice here.”
On a recent Wednesday morning, hidden from view in a Brunswick backstreet, dozens of early-risers squeezed past a cafe coffee machine into a type of makeshift sports cinema.
Conditions were dreadful — a 6am kick-off in the sobering cold of a Melbourne mid-winter hump day.
The match — a grinding nil-all draw between Ghana and England that the BBC would later describe as “dour”.
The vibe — an ecstatic, deep Saturday night-like club party, sound-tracked by laughter, intermittent screams and spontaneous bursts of music.
Adjoa Nkrumah dashed back down the road at half-time to grab some drums from home.
“People make jokes about it, like it’s the closest we’ll get to world peace, but it is truly such a beautiful cultural display” she said.
“It’s an opportunity for people to engage across cultures, within community, and just to see the best that the world has.
“I love this time every four years.”
Inside the viewing party, condensation coated the windows as steam snaked from flat whites and crispy Ghanaian fritters called Koose.
Zarah Garbrah, a 29-year-old Melburnian with Ghanaian-Italian heritage, could be seen beaming and shrieking in equal measure.
“The vibes are high, the energy is high,” she said.
“The theme of today is just unity — coming together and celebrating and just being a part of something bigger than yourself.
“I think you can really feel that when you come into spaces like this that celebrate your identity, that celebrate culture, that celebrate where you’re from.
“Now more than ever it’s important, because I think we can feel a sense of change in the world.”
‘Our home is Australia’
A few suburbs over, the city’s small Brazilian community congregated on the old cobblestone floors of North Melbourne’s Meat Market for a more generous mid-morning Saturday kick-off.
Later in the day they would celebrate Festa Junina, the winter solstice party that rivals Carnival on the Brazilian cultural calendar.
But first, it was time for football.
“You’re talking about people who… AJHHH That’s a goal!! Vinicius!” exclaimed Alba Chliakhtine, breaking off mid-thought about why the World Cup matters so much to Brazilians.
“The World Cup is a passion in Brazil because it is a popular sport, but it’s also a way that many get out of poverty.”
Children wearing the bright yellow of the Seleção balanced on their parent’s knees, gripped to the action.
Saturday morning language classes — a ritual for so many multicultural families — were folded into the viewing party.
“The Portuguese classes, they are very important to the children who are born here or came here very early in life. It just looks a bit different today,” Ms Chliakhtine said.
“There are a couple of teachers that will be talking to them, [explaining in Portuguese] what is a goal, what are they celebrating, so they understand that cultural aspect that they haven’t come across before.”
For Ms Chliakhtine, who moved to Australia in 1988, the moment fused together two of her great loves.
“I love my Brazilian heritage, but we are very proud to say we are Australian citizens.
“We were born in Brazil, but our home is Australia.”
No party politics, just party
Why then, for a country guilty of occasional ambivalence toward the world game, does the World Cup provoke such urgent displays of public unity?
Sitting semi-distracted by a TV showing a group stage match behind him, it is a question academic David Rowe has considered at length.
“This is one of the moments where you perhaps get a sense that this is what a nation feels like,” Mr Rowe said.
“These great high holidays of sport are also high holidays of the nation.
“It can be that most people don’t encounter the nation that much in their everyday lives.
“This is the moment where you kind of get to see it, maybe feel it.
“It’s not just an intellectual exercise. It’s one that involves the heart, the body.”
Back in Brunswick, Nima Sobhani wandered into the Little Homey cafe to grab a coffee but stayed for the early-morning Ghanaian party.
“I’m just kind of blown away by the atmosphere and energy. I wish every Wednesday morning could be like this,” he said.
“I think the World Cup is just a perfect catalyst to demonstrate all that’s good about this country.“
Under the oppressive and absurd spectre of a confected monoculture vs multiculturalism debate, there might be a temptation to ascribe a type of political significance to such gatherings.
Even at 6am on a Wednesday, the exhausting political noise was easily drowned out by song and laughter.
The moment was too exhilarating, too human.
“It’s so beautiful to see how people come together,” Adjoa Nkrumah said.
“You see people with their flags on the street, but it doesn’t feel intimidating or funny.
“It’s just fun. It’s joyous.”
Credits
Reporting, photography and digital production: Jeremy Story Carter
Video: Shayne Mawere
