Author Plans 9th-Birthday World Cup Surprise With 2 Tickets for Godson
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 6
Author Plans 9th-Birthday World Cup Surprise With 2 Tickets for Godson
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 6
Summary
Two World Cup tickets the author won in this year’s lottery will become a surprise 9th-birthday gift for his godson, who is set to attend Uruguay vs. Cape Verde the day after turning 9.
Miami and Lionel Messi’s local influence helped make the boy an avid soccer fan, prompting the author and his parents to turn the match into a birthday reveal.
The plan also echoes the author’s own first World Cup at age 9 — Romania’s 3-2 win over Argentina at the Rose Bowl on July 3, 1994.
That memory underpins the article’s broader point: children who see the World Cup in person often carry the experience for decades.