Dear Peru,
June 30th, 2002. International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan.
It was a bright and sunny morning in the city of Toronto. (7:00 am to be exact)
I woke up to my mother sitting by herself in front of the TV. To be honest, a weird sight for me since my mother was never into watching television or sports for that matter. She told me to stay quiet and not wake up my dad and brother so we could enjoy the FIFA World Cup Final between Germany and Brazil.
With a South American heritage and seeing a South American team in a final, you only had one option for who to root for, Brazil. After my dad (who, by the way, was angry at my mother for not waking him up) and brother woke up, we sat together. We witnessed Brazil become champions of the world for a record-setting fifth time.
We even had two neighbors/childhood friends of ours come to our door with a massive Brazil flag to take a photo with my brother and me to celebrate.
The 8-year-old in me was stoked. Pumped. The team that I was rooting for from day one had won the World Cup.
I asked my dad to pick up the Toronto Sun from the following day as they had a full-page pull-out in the sports section. It was a Team Brazil photo with a "World Cup Champions" caption attached to it.
Despite all that happiness in 2002 for a team I had no connection to, I always asked one question every four years, when will Peru make it to the World Cup?
Since 1982, easily way before I was born (not to mention, my parents didn't even meet until roughly 1990), Peruvians have been waiting for a World Cup birth.
Within 35 years, fans have seen heartbreak after heartbreak.
Take Mexico 1986, for example. Peru failed to qualify after falling to a familiar face in Ricardo Gareca and Argentina. France 1998? It was goal differential that kept them out of the tournament.
If that wasn't enough, it got worse when team members were caught partying during the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers ahead of a matchup against Brazil. The scandal would be too much for the team as they placed last among the CONMEBOL standings.
When? When would the misery end for the Peruvians?
November 15th, 2017. Estadio National, Lima, Peru.
I went to work in my beautiful red striped Peruvian jersey. I witnessed Italy's hopes to go to Russia for the World Cup be extinguished after they failed to beat Sweden in the second leg of their aggregate. As I sat in my seat with my jersey, I wondered if that would be the night where history was made.
I finished my shift at work at 5:00 pm in downtown Toronto. I raced towards public transit on my way to my cousin's house for Peru's second leg against New Zealand. With the final spot to Russia up for grabs, and both teams failing to score in their first leg, it was anybody's game.
I made it to my cousin's place right on time as the match in Lima was underway. As my heart was beating fast throughout the game, Jefferson Farfan and Peru struck first in the 28th minute and got my family and me screaming in joy.
As we jumped up and down, the question of "When will it happen?" turned into "Is this really it?" as the game went into halftime. Trying to calm down, my cousins and I spoke as if we were Ricardo Gareca and the coaching staff to figure out how to keep New Zealand out of our zone to seal our fate.
As the second half progressed, Peru received a corner kick in the 65th minute. Christian Cueva (who set up the first goal for Farfan) took the corner, which landed right at the feet of Christian Ramos, and found the back of the net.
The screams from the first half turned louder as all of us in the living room continued to scream in joy. The question of "Is this really it?" then turned into "It's going to happen."
And soon enough, 29 minutes later, history.
It's over. The drought was over. For the first time in 36 years, Peru qualified for a World Cup.
Growing up in an Italian and Portuguese-dominated neighborhood, the talk among the kids in the playground was how great Italy or Portugal were in soccer and how they wanted to play for their national teams.
Aside from that, just the topic of the World Cup always had people turning to me and saying, "Hey, Peru sucks. They'll never make it." Even I joked around about Peru making it to the big stage.
What felt like a fantasy just to qualify (let alone win the damn World Cup) suddenly turned into a reality. While some may think we had an excessive celebration, imagine the people living in Peru watching that unfold?
The pictures from Peru told the whole story. Dancing, singing, jumping, crowding the streets was what ran through the night all around the country. A national holiday was declared the following day because of the qualification.
The party was so intense that earthquake warnings were sent to multiple mobile devices in Peru, asking the nation to embrace it.
As somebody who grew up in a Peruvian household, who's been to Peru and embraced the culture, it felt like no other for my family and me.
My parents weren't watching the game with me. Once they got to my cousin's house to pick me up, I immediately embraced them in utter joy, ready to experience what they did in 1982.
No more did I have to jump on another team's bandwagon in the World Cup or stay neutral to see who will become a world champion. For once, I had colors of my own to wear around the city or show off with my friends and annoy people on social media on what my heritage is.
This was our time to get behind our native country and cheer them on in front of the world.
June 16th, 2018. Mordovia Arena. Saransk, Mordovia, Russia.
The day had arrived for Peru's first World Cup game in 36 years as they took on Denmark. I had rushed to my cousin's house for the opening kickoff. With the car and ourselves decked out in red and white, and a replica World Cup trophy I bought on Kijiji, we were ready for what was quickly a wild ride.
Unfortunately, and as most know, it didn't end up in our favor. A 1-0 loss to Denmark, along with a crushing penalty miss from Christian Cueva, shook us a bit as we hoped for the best.
As disappointing as it was, we kept on celebrating and continued to be happy with just the privilege of watching Peru in a World Cup game yet again and ready to embrace the rest.
Of course, as it ended up being, Peru would lose to France, sending a shockwave of sadness among Peruvians and myself. It stung to see your team eliminated. Two close games and coming up short both times was not what you wanted to see.
As the frustration came over me at work watching Peru's elimination, seeing the fans' sight in the bleachers made me realize the elimination didn't matter as much.
"Why feel crushed?" was what a coworker and I asked. Why? Peru made it to the World Cup after 36 years. There was no need to be disappointed. That painful feeling turned right back into a smile.
If that wasn't a reason to celebrate, it was their final game against Australia that had a nation rocking and excited.
André Carrillo scored Peru's first World Cup goal since 1982. A joyous occasion as I hugged my dad in the living room, jumping up and down. It was a moment that can't be taken away from me celebrating with my father. The goal we desperately waited, became a reality as well.
The icing on the cake? Paolo Guerrero. The captain who initially suspended was pleaded by the captains of France, Denmark, and Australia to FIFA to let him play, put his name in this history book. His goal in the 65th got Peruvians even crazier worldwide and put them up 2-0.
With two losses in Group C, the 2-0 win against Australia made us feel on top of the world. We left Russia with our heads held high and a reason to keep wearing the red and white.
We won't be winning the World Cup. Still, we certainly feel like champions to have our native Peru return to a major international tournament.
So thank you, Peru. Thank you for allowing my parents with their siblings and friends to relive the memories they had of seeing you play when they were our age.
Thank you for giving my own sibling, cousins, friends, and myself the feeling of watching you play in a World Cup.
Thank you for bringing a nation together, sing your anthem proudly, and a reason to chant your name.
It's been a fun ride. Qatar 2022?
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