Sitting at a beach cafe, Will Winkler, junior child and family services major from Lewsiville, enjoyed the few hours before a World Cup match with the Valencia locals and his study abroad group. Music played, everyone wore jerseys and unmatched excitement filled the crowd as they prepared to watch the final match.

They prepared for the possibility that Spain could win the World Cup.

Students traveled to Valencia, Spain, during Summer Sessions I and II for the inaugural trips. With the World Cup taking place during their time abroad, the students also had the opportunity to experience soccer as part of Spanish culture.

For students in the United States, soccer may not be as widely followed as some other sports, but experiencing the World Cup in Spain offers a different perspective.

“We were over the moon excited to be there while the World Cup was going on,” Winkler said. “I’m not a big soccer person, but as soon as we got to immerse ourselves in the excitement of it all with the locals, we [were] LARPing as the biggest Spain fans ever.”

Rachel Murphy, senior nursing major from Boerne, said she had a similar experience.

“I’m not the biggest soccer fan, but I really did start getting into it,” she said.

Spanish fans crowd the Valencia downtown plaza during the final match of the World Cup (photo provided by Rachel Murphy)

The Spanish locals were full of energy and joy, which Maicah Palafox, junior Bible and ministry and Spanish major from Abilene, said made the whole experience worth it.

“I think when you are in that environment, it definitely is easy to get the energy,” Palafox said. “Everyone’s kind of feeding off each other.”

During the final, the group went downtown to watch the match in the plaza.

“Once we got to the actual final, oh my goodness, so many people,” Murphy said. “People were standing on trash cans, they were standing on plants, they were standing on shop roofs, it was crazy how many people were there.”

Palafox said he remembered that he lost his whole group in the crowds trying to get a good spot.

“It was packed, like insane,” Palafox said. “Shoulder to shoulder, it was crazy.”

He said that for him and the other students, the energy during the final game was unbeatable. In the final, Spain’s Ferran Torres scored in the second period of extra time to make it 1-0, giving Spain the win over defending champions Argentina.

“When they scored, it was like everything exploded. It was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard,” Palafox said. “Everyone is yelling, screaming, dancing and celebrating.”

Murphy said what stood out to her most was the energy throughout the city, from the plazas to the streets.

“One of my favorite parts was whenever Spain won,” she said. “It basically was like a big party, and everyone was just celebrating. It was so cool because everyone was honking and cheering out of their cars, and everyone had their flags out.”

For others, the party was a major highlight of the night.

“It was so, so crazy and so awesome. The whole city was alive until easily 6 a.m.,” Winkler said. “You would pass anyone on the street, and they would just look at you and be like ‘Viva España! Viva España!’”

These students said their trip ended with something that they will take with them forever.

“That was just a really cool thing to experience,” Murphy said. “I’ll definitely always remember it.”