I APPROACHED my radio reporting work for the 1994 World Cup Finals in a state of bubbling excitement.
I has never been to the USA before and so I was set to visit cities that I had only ever seen in movies. In fact, for the first time in my life I decided to combine the football with taking in major tourist attractions in a bid to savour such a special trip.
I ended up travelling around nine major venues in a hectic 13 days and I was present for several historic football betting moments….
CHICAGO
I began my 1994 odyssey amidst a superb World Cup opening ceremony at the Soldier Field stadium.
I watched in awe as a feast of traditional American razzmatazz unfolded in front of me and legendary chanteuse Diana Ross emerged from a massive plastic ball to sing on the pitch.
Then it was the main event of Germany 1 Bolivia 0 (attendance 63,117). Regarding my new found tourism interest, I ventured into Chicago’s Al Capone Museum and took an elevator to the top of the Sears Tower (the tallest building in the world at the time).
In addition, a Greek journalist at the World Cup media centre told me John Travolta was performing live on stage in a musical in Chicago that night.
Therefore I joined my new friend for an outing to the theatre although we hadn’t booked tickets and I felt sure the performance would be totally sold out. But when we arrived, there was hardly anybody there.
I unexpectedly spotted a handwritten note on the entrance door which solemnly proclaimed: “Mr Travolta will not be appearing tonight due to illness and is replaced by an understudy.” So we decided to give the play a miss!
NEW YORK
Italy are usually near the top of World Cup odds in most markets and that was no different in 1994. And yet I saw Ireland beat Italy 1-0 at the fabled Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
For someone like me who is half-Irish and half-Italian, this was an incredible occasion amongst a 74,826 crowd
I vividly remember how thousands of American-born supporters from both countries staged a vibrant tailgate party in the stadium car park prior to kick-off.
hen after the game, I caught the train back into New York where I joined a large group of Irish fans walking down Broadway towards Times Square.
All of a sudden, a huge policemen leapt ahead of us and dramatically waved his baton in the air. “STOP! STOP!” he yelled.
But it very quickly became apparent he was of American-Irish heritage when he added: “You guys can do anything you want in New York tonight!”
As a quick as a flash, one of the lads replied: “We may need to quote you on that later officer!”
My own tourist excursions continued in New York by ascending to the respective peaks of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and the Rockefeller Center.
I liked everything so much that I returned to the ‘Big Apple’ many years later for my honeymoon.
WASHINGTON DC
On to the capital city where I witnessed Holland 2 Saudi Arabia 1 (attendance 52,435) at the RFK Stadium.
Later, I tried to get on a guided tour of The White House but the queues were so long that I gave up!
However I did manage to see the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall plus the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame.
What came as a surprise was that tourists like me were allowed to stroll around unchallenged inside The Pentagon headquarters of the United States Department of Defense and take photographs!
DETROIT
It was wonderful to be part of history when the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit became the first indoor stadium used in a World Cup Finals tournament.
My game finished Switzerland 4 Romania 1 and 61,428 filled the massive air-conditioned building. Alas, this amazing place was demolished in 2018.
ORLANDO
On arrival in Orlando, I took a taxi to Disney World and relished the delights of the Magic Kingdom theme park. A thoroughly enchanting location that made me feel five years old again.
From there, it was on to the Citrus Bowl stadium for Mexico 2 Republic of Ireland 1 before 61,219 spectators.
I recall this massive argument just a few metres away from me between Ireland manager Jack Charlton and the fourth official who initially refused permission for substitute John Aldridge to go on to the pitch.
BOSTON
I was really honoured to view the world’s greatest player in action at Foxboro Stadium.
Indeed, Diego Maradona set up both Argentina goals via cunning free-kicks in a 2-1 victory over Nigeria (attendance 54,453).
But it turned out to be his last ever international appearance because he was subsequently and sensationally sent home from America for failing a drugs test in a blaze of publicity.
Meanwhile, my tourist quest embraced the Skywalk Observatory viewing platform and the Boston Tea Party Ship Museum.
LOS ANGELES
Next I had a six hour cross-country flight over to Los Angeles.
Temperatures reached 100°F at the Rose Bowl Stadium which had very little cover so I plastered on the factor 50 whilst settling down alongside 93,869 onlookers for USA 0 Romania 1.
It was a vibrant occasion which illustrated to me how much “soccer” was growing in popularity across the States back then.
Following the match, I headed straight to Hollywood to explore the local sights. I have to say this was the only setting on my USA excursion where I didn’t feel safe as there were some dodgy-looking characters hanging around on Hollywood Boulevard.
Nevertheless, it was fantastic to view all the iconic hand prints etched on the pavement Walk Of Fame from an assortment of celebrated movie stars.
I was disappointed though that I couldn’t get a good close-up photo of the famous Hollywood Sign due to the fact it is actually located about five miles away on the top of a mountain.
SAN FRANCISCO
It was lovely for me to catch of a glimpse of The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
However, Stanford Stadium was so far from the city centre that coaches were laid on to transport members of the media 40 miles to the game.
It was my highest scoring match of the tournament with Russia hammering Cameroon 6-1. Some 74,914 fans packed into what was essentially a college stadium within a students’ campus.
Again I observed history being made when Russia’s Oleg Salenko hit the net five times to set a new record for the most goals scored by one player in a World Cup Finals match.
DALLAS
My last game was Bulgaria 2 Argentina 0 and this attracted a crowd of 63,998 at the Cotton Bowl stadium.
No time for any sight-seeing afterwards though as I had a nine hour flight back to London almost straightaway.
My girlfriend at the time picked me up at Gatwick Airport and we optimistically said we would go nightclubbing that evening. But I fell asleep in the car.
Then when I got home, I slept non-stop for nearly two days. My first experience of severe jet lag!
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 18th October 2022
