The World Cup only happens once every four years, but to go to the tournament of the host nation can be once in a lifetime opportunity.
That is unless you’re literally rolling in piles of cash. A chance to go to the World Cup is a chance anyone would take. So spare a thought for poor Javier from Mexico who was denied permission by his wife to go to this year’s World Cup in Russia – I feel for you buddy.
However, his friends who are currently having the time of their lives in Russia (a sentence I never thought I’d write) are keeping his presence alive by bringing a cardboard cut out of their absent compadre around the red state.
During the 2014 World Cup in Brazil Javier and his mates decided they would be attending the next tournament in Russia, Oddity Central report. The five friends from Durango decided to paint a bus in their nation’s colours which they would travel in together.
Immediately they began saving up their money, managing to buy an affordable bus which could accommodate their travel needs, however a crisis struck in April, just as they were getting ready to set off on their big football adventure.
As it turns out Javier couldn’t make it, because his wife wouldn’t let him. He had to break the devastating news to the guys via a video on Facebook, which has since gone viral. To be fair you had four years in between to let your missus know where you were going.
Posted by Ingue Su Matrushka on Friday, 15 June 2018
Speaking to ABC Noticias, Fernando Osorio, one of the five friends, said:
In 2014, we saw that many people traveled [sic] to the World Cup by car, and that’s how we got the idea. We would do it in a bus designed by us specifically for this trip to Europe.
While Javier couldn’t go, that didn’t mean his friends couldn’t and they were determined to go on this epic adventure come hell or high water. Furthermore, just because Javier couldn’t make it they decided he’d be there in spirit… via the medium of a cardboard cut out.
Posted by Ingue Su Matrushka on Friday, 15 June 2018
The life-size cut out of Javier has been all over Russia already, despite the World Cup only beginning last Thursday (June 14). To be fair I don’t know whether Javier’s pals are keeping his memory alive or if they’re rubbing salt in his wounds. The cut out even has him wearing a t-shirt which says ‘My wife didn’t let me [go]’. That’s so cold.
The four friends even set up a Facebook group, which chronicles their adventures with cardboard Javier, called Ingue Su Matrushka.
One photo has the cardboard cut out sleeping with a sombrero over his face and a bottle of Jagermeister next to him. Other photos show him having fun with his friends and partying the night away. I suspect the real Javier as a severe case of FOMO right now.
Posted by Ingue Su Matrushka on Monday, 11 June 2018
Try not to dwell on it too much Javier, there’s always Qatar 2022.
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