MEDELLÍN—As the World Cup kicks off this week, it's estimated that one out of every two people on Earth will watch some part of the tournament on television. For that many people to tune in, there has to be something more than love of the game, nationalism, or a desire to skip out of work on a summer afternoon to crush lagers and learn the offside rule at the nearest Irish-themed pub. For people all over the world, especially those in the 32 nations competing, there must be something about the World Cup that allows them to drop everything-their daily responsibilities, stresses, hardships-and pin their aspirations on a bunch of dudes with cool names and funky haircuts kicking a ball halfway across the world.It's the search for that something that has us headed to Colombia, leaving the temperate beauty of the Pacific Northwest for the ungodly humidity of the equator to spend three weeks traveling across a foreign country crammed in buses and taxi cabs, watching soccer in packed local bars, the homes of strangers, and anywhere else with a television set and a pulse. We want to experience the World Cup in a place where it resonates a little deeper, and maybe learn a little bit of why along the way.20 years after the World Cup disaster of '94—a tournament that saw a promising Colombia side crash out of the tournament on an unceremonious own goal and its captain murdered at the hands of his countrymen—the country heads to its fifth World Cup appearance with renewed hope. Colombia surged through South American qualifying, finishing second in CONMEBOL, with striker Jackson Martínez saying this might be its most talented squad ever. Though superstar forward Radamel Falcao could not heed the prayers of 47 million Colombians and make a miracle recovery from a January ACL tear in time to play, the team boasts as much attacking depth as any side in the tournament. Joining Martínez up front will be Carlos Bacca, coming off a breakout season for Sevilla in Spain's La Liga, Juan Cuadrado, a winger coveted by top clubs across Europe, and 22-year-old phenom James Rodríguez, whose precocious ability has earned him the nickname "El Nuevo Pibe," after Valderrama, the original "El Pibe."As Colombian soccer looks poised for new success, the country appears to have broken from the image of its past. Our soccer pilgrimage starts in the former murder capital of the world, Medellín, a place that has seen its crime rate plummet over the last decade while remaining a soccer hotbed and proving ground for many of the country's brightest talents.Tracing Colombia's soccer lineage, we'll make our way north and explore the Afro-Colombian cultures along the Caribbean coast, immersing ourselves in a culture that breathes soccer and bleeds yellow, red, and blue. Along the way we'll hit Cartagena, a once cultural capital turned glitzy tourist destination with direct flights from JFK and spreads in the sacred texts of unattainable aspiration, The New York Times Travel Section. From there our path is uncertain, inherently linked to the 23 men chosen to represent their country on the world's biggest stage.In addition to the Cup, we touch down in the land of coffee and cocaine at a pivotal point in their history, as the 50-year civil war between the government and the Marxist group FARC appears to be approaching peace. Of course, that peace is likely dependent on which candidate wins the presidential election runoff taking place the day after Colombia's first World Cup game--an election that continues to spiral further into the bizarre with accusations of hacking and doctored videos, where even a picture of Falcao with the president's son became an involuntary endorsement.So what does any of that have to do with a soccer tournament? Well, maybe everything. With half of the world's population looking intently at Brazil, we're headed to their northern neighbor, our World Cups half full of aguardiente and our fingers firmly on the pulse of the world's biggest tournament.***Joseph Swide and Kade Krichko are traveling throughout Colombia during the World Cup. You can follow their travels even closer on Twitter here and here.
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