Many of the fans left the stadium at the half time break. There is a time and a place for it.
The Al-Bayt Stadium looked different by the time the referee blew the final whistle.
There was once a large patch of Ecuadorian yellow, a bunch of burgundy from the ultras section, and a lot of black and white. There were patches of pale red at the Al-Bayt that were the color of empty seats.
You could see home supporters file out as early as the end of the first half when they were two goals down, but it is unlikely that much more than one-third of the 67,372 in attendance remained.
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Only once before have I seen so many fans leave a stadium early. When Brazil took on Germany in a World Cup semifinal, they were down by five points at the half. The agony of Mineiro was the ultimate day of shame for the Seleo as they lost 7-1.
It was different than the previous one. This was the first time the World Cup was played in the Middle East. They weren't playing well, but they were down by two goals against a poor team, which gave them hope for the second half. Even though they were on their way to becoming the first host nation in World Cup history to lose the opening game, they still had two more chances to win.
Qatar's journey to the World Cup has been a lot of work and a lot of money. After winning the bid, they built a world-class training center and filled it with the best youth coaches money could buy, as well as gifted kids from around the world.
They spent more money on the World Cup than any other World Cup. They built a brand new airport. They bankrolled a domestic professional league with some of the biggest names in the game.
On this night, they were short in one area.
I'm not talking about what happened on the field. That wasn't a surprise. Since they won the Asian Cup in the middle of the year, this team haven't played in any official tournaments. It has been a long time since football was played. The battle-hardening war of attrition, otherwise known as CON MEBOL qualification, was one of the reasons why Ecuador was able to come through.
The home supporters are what I'm talking about. The people who were passionate about supporting their team would be the ones who cared the most. Many were gone at the first bumps in the road.
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There are cultural differences. Is that not a real fan? Random Qataris who attended out of curiosity rather than passion for their team. It's difficult to say. Many did not leave until the end. The seats will feel like a kick in the crown.
If it wasn't for national pride, why go through all this? The fans walked out before the game ended.
It's similar to the message that Qatar has often told us, that it's a football-loving nation with a passion for the sport. In its bid to host the World Cup, it was claimed that it was.
This is a small country with about 300,000 people, including the elderly and toddlers. It is likely that it will be difficult to get one-tenth of that population into a stadium. It would have been too much to expect them to stick around for a victory. That is a bit sad.
Money and an emir who wants to host a World Cup can buy you a lot. 90 minutes of committed support from your population is what it's not. If they don't like what they see, they'll vote with their feet. They can't be stopped.
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