A Bolder Move: Solo Soccer Road Trip to Al Ain Begins...Now...

Today is a UAE live sports day I've had circled on the calendar almost since arriving in early April – UAE vs. India in mens soccer, a second-round qualifying match for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It's the first of a two-game home and home series, with the return trip happening in Delhi July 28 and the winner (on aggregate goals) advancing to the next round of qualifying, the first group stage.

I'm excited enough about it to road trip approximately two hours on my own (I couldn't sell the event to any takers amongst our hangout group) to Al Ain, an apparently mountainous city of about 350,000 people due east of Abu Dhabi. I'm not certain because I've never been. Adventure! Meanwhile Leslie is cooking for a dinner party at our apartment. Here's hoping our rental Nissan Tiida holds up and I don't have to interrupt to ask to be rescued.

Part of the excitement comes from the opportunity to attend a match in a far-off corner of the sporting universe that I never thought I'd reach. Part of it is the journey itself - a return to the road-trip thrill-seeking I sought in driving to sporting events across the midwest/east/south in my late teens and early 20s.

Conceptually this trip reminds me very much of driving solo from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Madison, Wisconsin to watch Penn State play at Wisconsin in 1998 (early turnovers did in Penn State 24-3 in what should have been a very close game, clenching a Rose Bowl berth for Badgers).

That was when I started seeing myself as a risk taker after years of being afraid of roller coasters and asking girls to dances. I started to realize that eating at a bar in a strange town and people-watching provides its own kind of thrill, as does driving on dimly-lit highways at 3 a.m. with the truckers. About to mimic those journeys internationally, it makes me feel younger and bolder than I usually do, these days.

Now if you know a little about international soccer, you know this match has minimal significance as far as the ultimate World Cup is concerned – probably analogous to the likelihood the 4/5 game in the Atlantic Sun conference tournament ends up affecting the Sweet 16 in NCAA mens basketball. There are only 32 teams that will earn a trip to Brazil, and a maximum of five of them will be from Asia. Both India and the UAE appear to be long shots to make it.

But I love international soccer, and I also love off-the-beaten-path sporting events that are nonetheless important to the locals and therefore come up with a unique, vivid slice of color. This game fits the bill.

The native population (again, only 20% of the country) of the UAE loves the sport, and the power-wielders in this country love spending toward the pursuit of national glory. See: Burj Khalifa. They've already started to take the same approach to soccer, like the signing of legendary Argetenian soccer hero and sideshow Diego Maradona to coach club Al Wasl in the UAE national league next season, and its only a matter of time until this philosophy starts benefiting their World Cup qualifying chances. The UAE has qualified once, in 1990.

This UAE squad is deemed young, talented (possibly a little brash, as demonstrated by this crazy back-heeled penalty kick in a "Friendly" match against Lebanon last week that got tons of international media and online attention), and ready to make a leap forward in their international soccer relevance, and my bet is there will be many Emirati in attendance with greater-than-in-the-past expectations. I believe those lofty expectations will be palpable in the stands.

For India, cricket and (to the best of my knowledge) mens field hockey capture the greatest portion of their sports attention, while those who enjoy soccer probably ally themselves with European and South American teams. I don't believe soccer is viewed as a major Indian sport, but if I'm wrong, I'll learn so tonight.

India qualified for the 1950 World Cup (also in Brazil), apparently because all their Asian opponents forfeited in qualifying, but they did not make the trip to South America, because the event wasn't deemed important enough. Very different times indeed.

While India is much more of a long shot than the UAE to qualify - they are ranked No. 27 amongst AFC teams while the UAE is ranked 1- there are a ton of Indians in this country, and it's likely a significant chunk of that fans tonight will be for India. In fact, the reason the game is in Al Ain, in my non-expert opinion, is because they don't want to make it easy for all the Indian workers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to get to the game (like when the U.S. soccer team schedules games against Latin countries in Salt Lake City).

I have little idea what to expect out of this trip, but I look forward to reporting back...the place, the people, the excitement of intense competition. Forget about dabbling in fast food from around the world, this was the kind of experience that got my blood flowing when I envisioned The Easy Outsider blog.