A dream come true: The journey from Dhaka to Kansas for Messi
Seeing Lionel Messi play live was a dream come true. He does not run the fastest, nor is he the most physically imposing player on the pitch. What he possesses is something far rarer: pure magic with the ball.
Back in September 2011, when Argentina came to Bangladesh for a friendly against Nigeria at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, I was still a college student. I could not afford the Tk 5,000-10,000 needed to watch Messi in person, but the dream never left me.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. When my wife and I applied for our US visas in 2023, I told her about another dream - attending a FIFA World Cup match in 2026, the greatest sporting show on earth.
When FIFA began selling tickets last September, the first two phases were random ballot draws. To improve our chances, my wife and I entered separately using different FIFA accounts. Fortunately, she was successful. The excitement was short-lived, however. After the final World Cup draw on December 5, we discovered the tickets were not for an Argentina match.
I tried every sales phase and marketplace afterwards, desperately searching for Argentina tickets, but without success.
Then, a month before the tournament began, FIFA launched its last-minute sales phase. Prices had soared, and competition was fierce. I spent four gruelling hours in queues across three different devices. Somehow, we managed to add tickets through both accounts, but the payment system simply would not cooperate.
I was on the verge of giving up.
Then, by what felt like a miracle, one transaction finally went through. When the confirmation email landed in our inbox, we could hardly believe it. We had tickets for an Argentina match. My wife and fellow Argentina supporter, Roshni, paid for them, making the moment even more special.
As students living on a limited budget and without a car, we immediately started planning the trip. Flights were prohibitively expensive and hotel prices in host cities had multiplied several times over. Instead, we chose buses and trains.
The journey took almost a week. We crossed four states and two time zones, staying only two nights in hotels and spending two more nights trying to sleep on rattling buses and trains. Outside the host cities, it often felt as though many Americans barely knew the World Cup was taking place. Football - or soccer, as they call it - remains far from the country's biggest sporting attraction.
Everything changed when we arrived in Kansas City.
Suddenly, the World Cup was everywhere. Fans filled the streets in national-team shirts. Banners, decorations and colours transformed stations, hotels and restaurants. The city proudly embraced its reputation as the "Soccer Capital of America". The atmosphere was so vibrant that even finding transport to our hotel became a challenge.
Match day was even more chaotic.
After waiting a long time for an Uber, we eventually set off for the stadium, only to be swallowed by heavy traffic. Looking out of the window, however, made every delay worthwhile. A sea of blue-and-white Argentina shirts stretched into the distance. Young children, elderly supporters and entire families were making their way towards the stadium. The excitement was infectious.
Eventually, the congestion became so severe that we abandoned the Uber and walked the final 30 minutes.
It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable parts of the day.
I unfolded the Bangladeshi flag I had brought with me and draped it across my back. As I walked alongside thousands of Argentina supporters, I felt as though I was carrying the hopes and passion of millions of fans back home who have followed Messi throughout his extraordinary career.
Along the route and inside the stadium, supporters sang the Argentine national anthem and chanted continuously. Many spoke different languages and some could barely communicate in English, but football united everyone.
Initially, I had simply wanted to experience a World Cup match. An Argentina game felt like an impossible bonus. Yet, by the grace of Almighty Allah, I found myself attending Argentina's opening match against Algeria and witnessing Messi score the first World Cup hat-trick of his career.
We had paid a small fortune for the tickets, but we were incredibly fortunate with our seats. We were in the Category 1 field-level section behind one of the goals. By pure chance, it was the very end where Messi scored his first goal.
Watching him celebrate so close to us was breathtaking.
The stadium was packed to capacity. Having watched Messi for years through television screens and mobile phones, seeing him live was a completely different experience. Every movement seemed purposeful. Every touch carried anticipation.
Families filled the stands, many with young children wearing oversized Argentina shirts. The atmosphere was electric. Whenever the crowd erupted, the giant screens displayed soaring noise levels. And every time Messi approached the ball, tens of thousands of voices united in a deafening chant: "Messi! Messi! Messi!"
The match itself was an emotional rollercoaster.
When Messi's early goal was ruled out for offside, frustration swept through the stands. Minutes later, Algeria found the net and panic immediately followed. For many Argentina supporters, it felt like a painful flashback to the shocking defeat against Saudi Arabia in Qatar four years earlier.
The relief when VAR ruled the goal out was indescribable. It felt as though the entire stadium exhaled at once.
After that scare, Messi took control.
When he completed his hat-trick, the stadium exploded into pure ecstasy. The experience surpassed every expectation I had ever imagined.
With tears in my eyes, a famous dialogue from a Shah Rukh Khan film came to mind:
"Kehte hain agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaho, toh poori kainaat usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai" (They say that if you truly desire something from the depths of your heart, the entire universe conspires to help you achieve it.)
For a brief moment, standing among thousands of jubilant Argentina supporters, it felt as though the universe had done exactly that.
But the universe was not quite finished testing our dedication.
After the final whistle, we faced another 30-minute walk to Lot O, the designated rideshare area. What followed was the worst traffic gridlock I have experienced since moving to the United States. Thousands of people were trying to leave at once, while available vehicles were scarce.
My wife and I spent two and a half hours refreshing Uber and Lyft in the cold before finally securing a ride back.
Yet looking at Roshni beside me, I could only smile.
The sleepless nights on buses, the exhausting walks, the endless queues, the stress and the expense - every bit of it was worth it.
Some dreams take years to come true. This one was worth every second of the wait.
(The writer is a former student of University of Dhaka, currently living in Kentucky, USA)
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