Local Lemoore Rotarians prepare for Portugal versus USA match as they continue their sojourn through Brazil

Lemoore’s Garcia, of Newman Garcia Studio, and former Lemoore High School Superintendent Dwight Miller left Fresno last Tuesday and made it in time for the Cup’s opening match on Thursday. The two, both Lemoore Rotarians, will take advantage of their Rotarian roots and meet up with Brazilian Rotary members as they travel the length and breadth of Brazil over the course of a week or so.

In all 32 teams have qualified to play in the 2014 World Cup, including the United States which is in a challenging group that includes three-time World Cup champion Germany, Portugal and Ghana, a team that has twice knocked them out of Cup competition in recent years.

The U.S. opened its World Cup play on Monday with a 2-1 victory over Ghana in the city of Natal.

Garcia and Miller will take in several more games as well as explore the diverse country. They’re also a little apprehensive because the two have heard all the negative stories about half-completed stadiums and possible mass-transit shutdowns. But on Tuesday they will be on their way with gifts for fellow Rotarians and a healthy appetite for world class soccer.

World Cup Match Schedule

To both Rotarians, this trip means more than just soccer. “We’re going to the World Cup, and that’s special, but it’s also a Rotary event. We’re going to meet a lot of Rotarians and spread good will,” said Garcia, a longtime Lemoore Rotarian.

“We set this trip up to got to as many Rotary Clubs as possible,” Garcia said. “That’s going to be one of the highlights for me.”

Garcia and other Rotarians, for the past several years, have visited South American countries like Guatemala and Ecuador where they constructed water purification systems in poor villages. He and wife Mary and others continue to plan and organize future trips.

The two have been working out details with Brazilian Rotarians for months to arrange details for flights and games. “We wanted to be there for the first two weeks when all the teams think they may have a chance,” said Miller.

For Garcia, a trip to Brazil to view the World Cup, is a dream come true. The local photographer and former United States Marine, has always been a huge soccer fan. Garcia, in recent years, has been instrumental in local international matches. For example, he helped to bring the Mexican women’s soccer team to Lemoore’s Tiger stadium for a match.

“I’ve always been a big soccer fan since I played the game as a kid in Mexico,” said the former Marine who served in Iraq and other place around world, finishing his career in Lemoore. “There is nothing bigger than the World Cup.”

Garcia is the kind of guy who will stay up all night, waiting for his favorite team to play at 3 a.m., sort of like a crazy Raider fan who paints his face black and white on Friday in anticipation of Sunday’s game. Miller’s transition to the sport has been a bit more cerebral. He remembers visiting his pregnant daughter a couple of years ago, and while in a taxi watching a mini-television screen saw an show about an author and his book on international soccer. He downloaded the book and read it on an airplane.

“I was hooked,” said Miller. “I was so taken by the fervor that accompanies a World Cup, I really started paying attention to it. I was talking to Jesus one day (at a Rotary meeting) about going to the World Cup and it just kind of evolved.”

The two will see five games in total. The two will fly to Sao Paulo and once they land will be taken to the nearest stadium where they will retrieve their tickets, which have already been purchased online. “The home team always plays the opening match,” said Miller. In this case the favored Brazilians will open against a strong Croatian team.

Taking in various matches isn’t like sitting in a stadium and waiting for the next match to begin. You have to hop on an airplane and fly thousands of miles. “It’s like going from Los Angeles to Chicago,” Miller said.

The two will hop a jet and fly to Belo Horizonte where they will take in two games: Columbia versus Ecuador and Belgium against Nigeria.

The two will then part ways as Garcia will depart to see Mexico and Brazil play. They’ll meet up again in Curitiba for three days and take in the Honduras-Ecuador matchup and then travel to the middle of the Amazon jungle where in a city named Manaus they will see their beloved USA team play Portugal.

They won’t come right home after their sojourn in the Amazon. How can you visit Brazil and not spend time in Rio de Janeiro? They’ll also visit the country’s largest Rotary Club where surprisingly the Rotarian International’s president, Ron Burton, an Oklahoman from the United States, will be visiting that same day.

“It has the potential to be really, really crazy,” Miller said. He cited news reports regarding unfinished stadiums, transit workers preparing to strike and more. “It has the potential to be horribly embarrassing for Brazil,” he said.

However, nothing’s going to stoop a million and more fans from watching their favorite teams, including two lucky fans from Lemoore. “It is the craziest sporting event on the planet,” said Miller.