<\/p>\n
Morocco fans celebrate Morocco\u2019s 3-0 win over Canada during the second half of a World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Houston, Saturday, July 4, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
In this football-loving state, it\u2019s tough for the Texas mind to conceive of a more impossible ticket to get than a spot in one of our giant fall cathedrals\u00a0for\u00a0Texas-Texas A&M<\/a> or Texas-OU<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, when I plopped into my upper-deck seat in the sixth row of Reliant Stadium\u2019s Section 602 for a little\u00a0f\u00fatbol\u00a0Saturday, the first thought my Americanized brain could muster was: THIS is what costs double the usual price for my annual spot in the Cotton Bowl on the second Saturday of October?<\/p>\n By the end of my first World Cup experience, I was hugging my new Moroccan friends as we clapped and chanted in\u00a0unison \u201cSiir, Siir, Siir.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n To call myself a soccer novice would be like saying Yordan Alvarez simply hits a baseball<\/a>.<\/p>\n Still, bit by the nasty FOMO bug, I spent $650 for a single ticket to the Morocco-Canada World Cup Round of 16 match<\/a> despite not being able to name a single player on either squad. A casual? More than sneakers in the office on a Friday.<\/p>\n After getting a tad emotional watching from home as an entire stadium sang \u201cTake Me Home, Country Roads,\u201d<\/a> and even catching feelings for a\u00a0Cape Verde team that nearly beat the odds<\/a> against Argentina and Lionel\u00a0Messi\u00a0\u2014 now him, I know\u00a0\u2014 the hecklers that reside in my brain declared it would be sports heresy to let a World Cup come and go in our city without experiencing it once as a fan.<\/p>\n So, Saturday morning, I put on the only shirt that could pass for Morocco or Canada red, the classic Jimmy\u00a0Chitwood Hoosiers shirsey \u2014 \u201cMy team\u2019s on the floor\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and tried to fit in.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re from Canada?\u201d my Moroccan seat neighbor asked as I entered a section taken over by jubilant Morocco supporters.<\/p>\n I was aghast that someone who considers\u00a0brisket to be a healthy breakfast could be mistaken for\u00a0someone who dabbles in poutine, but a mirror would have shown this Texan more easily could be taken for a Vancouver resident than someone who lives in\u00a0Marrakesh.<\/p>\n Soon, my seat neighbor, who made the trip from his home in Chicago to support his native country\u2019s team, was my soccer guru.<\/p>\n Whenever Morocco\u2019s opponent is on the attack, Morocco\u2019s fans whistle. A lot. Some would say annoyingly so, but we\u2019re doing all this with an open mind, so whistle away, my fellow soccer enthusiasts. When the tide turns, the fans clap both hands directly above their head and chant \u201cSiir\u2026 Siir\u2026 Siir\u201d at an increasingly more rapid pace.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just means ‘Go\u2026 go\u2026 go,’ do it with us,\u201d my new friend told me.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n I was bummed when Morocco\u2019s Ismael Saibari had to leave with a hamstring injury, while stopping myself from explaining\u00a0the complicated relationship\u00a0between \u201cdiscomfort\u201d and this city\u2019s baseball team. Then, we all lost our minds as Morocco piled on the goals in the second half.<\/p>\n Most of all, I was struck by something cheesier than the nachos a Morocco fan in our section inadvertently dumped all\u00a0over his jersey when he bolted from his seat after Azzedine Ounahi scored the\u00a0first of his two goals: The whole thing was a celebration. Of sports. Of country. Of humans.<\/p>\n When it was over, Morocco fans headed down the Reliant\u00a0Stadium ramps singing songs of celebration, but also paused to high five and hug their new Canadian friends,\u00a0who reciprocated with well wishes for the rest of the tournament.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A large contingent of Morocco fans have gathered outside Reliant Stadium at the corner of Kirby and McNee. Morocco-Canada in the World Cup Round of 16 is just a couple hours away. pic.twitter.com\/FQaEQll47c<\/a><\/p>\n