During every World Cup cycle, whenever someone asks where one can watch the World Cup, I couldn’t help but remember my rather unique experience watching my first World Cup final on TV.
It was France ‘98, and after scouring the papers in the school library for results in the early group stage, me and my board mates started wondering, “Where can we watch the playoffs live?”
As perennially broke college students, we had no cable TV in the boarding house, nor were there sports bars in Cebu. It was ‘98, there was no social media, streaming or what-have-you available. It was in the semis, I think that someone told us, a bar along Mango was airing the games live. So we in the boarding house—all Brazil fans—decided to stay out late and check the bar.
It was a bar alright, one where scantily clad females have a pole. The TV was small, barely 12 inches but there we were, locals and quite a few expats glued to the TV.
I remember one girl, who seemed disappointed that nobody was paying attention while she was gyrating, decided to block the TV, while removing her upper garment. Aside from the choice words from the expats, I think it was the scream from locals who said “pahawa diha (get out of there)” that convinced her we were there to watch the game, not the dancers.
Four years later, fortunately, the options for Cebu fans wasn’t limited to a place begging for a police raid. I think every Cebuano football fan was in The Village when Ronaldo showed that while his taste for a hairstylist was questionable, his skills on the field left no questions.
In 2006, sports bars and hotels were showing the games but what I remember at that time was when after catching the group stage matches at a certain sports bar, during the knockout round the bar charged an entrance fee.
It’s not that we were cheapskates, we did drink our fill in the group stage. We were no longer broke board-mates as most of us were on our first jobs. But we still run with the broken college fans circle, so we had a “where we can watch the World Cup for free” thread before Facebook and Twitter was a thing.
So we all ended up in a hostel, just in front of UP Cebu, with a TV so small we had to sit a couple of feet away. I wore a Brazil jersey and after watching them get eliminated I changed into an England jersey, only to hear one English fan scream out loud after the shootout, “Every bloody time!”
Africa 2010 onwards, watching the World Cup was no longer a question about where you can catch the games, but whether you’d be still up to watch the final. So at 5 a.m. in a bar in Banilad, we celebrated like crazy when Spain won. Ditto with 2014 and 2018. You just have to find the time to watch the games.
But in 2022, it’s different. Thanks to World Cup TV and Tap Digital Ventures, which is offering all 64 matches live plus replay plus all off field features for only P1,999, you’d get your fill even if you don’t have the time.
At P1,999 for 64 matches, that’s like P31 plus change per match, almost P30 cheaper if you buy a single beer in your favorite sports bar. You’d get the replays too and all the interviews. Plus, there is content not related to football, too.
Thanks to World Cup TV and Tap Digital Media Ventures, there’s no reason why you’d miss a game.