Now this is a true fan.
Argentina and Croatia squared off in their FIFA World Cup semi-final match on Tuesday, with Lionel Messi and the Argentinians rolling to a dominating 3-0 victory to punch their ticket to the final. Before the game, however, a true fanatic of the team went to the furthest extremes to make sure he could watch the game — though it ultimately didn’t work out for him.
In Buenos Aires, a man reportedly stole a bus — and yes, it was full of passengers — because he wanted to rush home in order to watch the massive game between his country and Croatia. While the driver was out buying something at a kiosk, the man then took the wheel, but ended up being stopped nearly two-and-a-half miles away, according to a New York Times report that cited an article from tn.com.ar.
A man in Buenos Aires reportedly stole a bus full of passengers because he wanted to get home in time for #ARG #HRV yesterday. The driver had nipped out and this chap got behind the wheel. He was stopped 4km into the trip! https://t.co/mwsbsLZals
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) December 14, 2022
Here’s a Google translation of the account from tn.com.ar:
An unusual act of insecurity took place this Tuesday in the heart of the Buenos Aires town of Ciudad Santa María, in San Miguel. A man, apparently in a hurry because he did not get to see the match of the Argentine National Team for the pass to the World Cup final, stole a bus full of passengers on the trip.
The audacious assault occurred aboard an inmate of line 440 who had just started his journey, after leaving the header located on Fraga and Avenida Ricardo Balbín, when, stopping at a traffic light and with the bus full, the driver warned that he was going down to buy something in a kiosk.
Now this is true fandom.
And how impressive was it that he pulled off more than two miles in that bus?
I know a lot of people would criticize this guy for being a lunatic, but I’m not going to do that — that would be the easy thing to do. Instead, I have to appreciate the passion, something that soccer has a knack of bringing out at the most intense levels. It’s one of the reasons I love this sport so much. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating for carjackings (busjackings?) or anything, but you can just feel that he wanted to see his team so bad.
And how can you blame him?
This is the same Argentinian team that is led by the legendary Lionel Messi, who is absolutely killing it in the World Cup, and they had a chance to make the tournament final — which they did. He wanted to see that. (RELATED: Former Italy PM And Monza Owner Silvio Berlusconi Promises Team A ‘Bus Full Of Sluts’ If They Beat Powerhouse Rival)
I just hope the police let him go, because that was true passion. But I have a feeling that, considering how passionate Argentina is about soccer, the officers who arrested him probably wanted to watch the game too and will be mad that they had to deal with that guy instead. Maybe they watched the game together afterwards, who knows?
Just imagine: they lock this guy in the precinct cell, but the police officers have the game on and let him watch it. And they even pass him a beer through the bars so he can really enjoy the team’s masterful performance.
Now that would have been cool as hell, and would have been the perfect representation of the true passionate nature of soccer. I wouldn’t be shocked whatsoever if that did happen.
Damn, I love this game.