Massachusetts
‘I just don’t feel it here in New England right now’: Immigrants say World Cup excitement is lacking – The Boston Globe
Humayun Morshed, a Medford resident who is originally from Bangladesh and a regular at the pickup games, has fond memories of the Cup. His ninth-grader son, Ariq, is a huge fan of soccer and really wants to go to a game.
But Morshed has struggled to make the prices work.
“Don’t know if we can afford it. It’s a shame,” he said. “Especially since the games will be right here in our backyard and we may not have a chance to watch.”
For many immigrants, the tournament can be a time to cheer for their countries of origin, and to celebrate the multiculturalism of the American experience. But some soccer lovers in Massachusetts say the thrill of this year’s games is overshadowed by concerns over pricey tickets, the inability of many communities to host watch parties, and US immigration policies that could dissuade throngs of fans from coming to this country to support their teams.
Massachusetts boasts immigrants from around the world, some of whom have roots in countries set to play at Foxborough. About 45,000 Haitians reside in the state, for example, and they are expected to show up, and show out, when their country plays Scotland in the first match of the tournament at Gillette on June 13. England, France, Ghana, Iraq, Morocco, and Norway are also playing in the Boston group.
Bruno Contreras, director of the nonprofit Soccer Without Borders in Massachusetts, has felt the excitement for the World Cup grow among his players and their parents as the tournament inches closer. The organization, which works to improve access to soccer for underserved youth, will have some of its members accompany players, as volunteers, during the matches.
“They’re eager, they’re planning, like, ‘Where are you going to watch the World Cup? Who are you rooting for?’ ” Contreras said.
Expensive tickets, however, have distanced the “people’s game” from its most ardent fans, he said. Late last week, the lowest-priced tickets for the Scotland-Haiti match were about $800 on Ticketmaster. That’s on top of the $80 round trip it’s costing fans to take the commuter train to the stadium on match day.
Four years ago, Rachid Chakri, a Malden-based physician assistant who is originally from Morocco, flew to Qatar, where he attended the World Cup, watching two games of his beloved Atlas Lions, the nickname for the Moroccan national team. But this time, high prices are making it tough for him to attend their game against Scotland on June 19 at Foxborough.
“The prices were not as high [in Qatar]. Transportation was free,” Chakri said. “Those are definitely some challenges and some drawbacks about this coming World Cup.”
Fans who want to congregate in public with others during the tournament have limited options. Cities and towns have struggled to secure permission from FIFA for official watch parties in their communities.
Lowell native Vaal Thawnghmung, whose family is from Myanmar, is organizing a soccer tournament at the University of Massachusetts Lowell that he says aims to replicate the spirit of the World Cup. Soccer in Lowell has a language all of its own, irrespective of people’s backgrounds, Thawnghmung said.
“We would be speaking completely different languages, but we would just understand how to play football or soccer together. And I just thought it was beautiful,” said Thawnghmung.
Meanwhile, tough immigration policies in the country threaten to undermine the global nature of the World Cup and its multicultural identity, said Contreras from Soccer Without Borders.
“These past years, immigrant communities have been targeted,” he said. “That’s definitely one element we don’t feel like we can go fully celebrating this tournament and all the cultural elements that a World Cup brings to a country.”
It’s a concern that Mohanad Mossalam, a Malden resident who coaches youth soccer, also shares. He grew up in Egypt watching the Cup with his father, a tradition he is trying to replicate with his own soccer-obsessed kids.
Being an American who can also claim roots from somewhere else offers a unique experience for immigrants like him, he said. As an Egyptian fan, he can put on the jersey of Egyptian and Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah and cheer, but also just as passionately support the United States.
“When the US is playing, I go and put my US shirt on and cheer for the US and look around, and I see people from basically all over the world cheering for the same country,” Mossalam said. “Because at the end of the day, we’re all Americans.”
He is concerned that fans who hail from outside the US may struggle to come cheer for their nations.
“Even if they do come, are they going to feel welcome here with the current climate that we have with immigration?” Mossalam said.
But even beyond those obstacles, the World Cup fervor, some say, feels lacking.
“I want to see the Senegal fans paint [their faces] in the colors of their countries. I want to hear the drums. I want to see the people chanting, whether the team is winning or losing or tying,” said Olf Mouyaka, a teacher and soccer coach in Cambridge who founded the soccer nonprofit Football Leadership Opportunity. “I’ve seen that excitement before. I just don’t feel it here in New England right now, and especially being in Boston.”
Contreras hopes that changes once the tournament gets going. One reason he loves the World Cup is the back stories that can emerge about the countries competing. In 2002, when Senegal defeated then-defending champion France, the game had a subtext beyond the pitch. France had colonized Senegal, and there was added significance to that victory, he said.
“At the end, the game has to win,” Contreras said. “We’re going to bring the celebration to the streets. We’re going to have street soccer. We’re going to have tournaments, watch parties. . . . We want to try to shape this opportunity. [It] has to be something inclusive, accessible, for all the communities, not only a few people.”
Omar Mohammed can be reached at omar.mohammed@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter (X) @shurufu.
GLENS FALLS, NY (WRGB) — A Massachusetts man is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he robbed two banks in separate states and tried to evade investigators by switching license plates—before evidence gathered in New York’s Capital Region helped lead authorities to him.
Joseph Sawyer is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from St. Mary’s Bank in New Hampshire and a Chase Bank in New Jersey last month. In both robberies, prosecutors say Sawyer fled in a Honda Odyssey minivan.
Prosecutors say the minivan originally had Massachusetts license plates, but Sawyer swapped them out with stolen New Jersey plates in an attempt to cover his tracks.
After the second robbery, highway cameras in Albany County captured the minivan as it tried to flee the tri-state area, prosecutors said. The FBI later tracked the vehicle to a motel near Glens Falls, where Sawyer was staying.
Prosecutors also say Sawyer’s own family helped identify him through surveillance photos, linking him to the robberies.
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR’s Saturday morning newsletter, The Weekender. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
Antique hunters from far and wide are about to descend on a little town in Massachusetts for the return of the Brimfield Antique Flea Market.
Brimfield — a western Massachusetts town of less than 4,000 — has hosted New England’s largest outdoor antiques market for more than 60 years. And the upcoming July 14-19 run marks the second of the market’s three yearly runs. The event boasts “thousands” of vendors and attracts more shoppers than organizers can even count, according to Lori Faxon, owner of the Brimfield Antiques Center.
“For those three weeks, we pretty much overtake the town,” Faxon told me.
Over the course of the six-day stretch, there will be more than 20 different antique shows set up on fields in the town for customers to peruse. “Different fields can have more than 400 dealers. Some will have fewer than that. It varies from show to show,” Faxon said. (Faxon is also the owner of two of those field shows: Dealer’s Choice, which is open one day only, and Midway Antiques, which is open for the length of Brimfield’s run.)
As the years have gone on, it’s not just antique housewares and furniture on display. Vintage clothing and jewelry have become hot commodities at the flea market among the younger crowd, Faxon added.
In other words, there are a lot of hidden treasures to discover. But the search can be daunting if you’re a first-time visitor. So I chatted with Faxon to get a few insider tips on navigating the expansive offerings at Brimfield and how to make the most out of your time:
Editor’s note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Hanna Ali: Vendors are scattered, usually, over different fields. Where should a visitor start?
Lori Faxon: “When you come to town, it’s important to know where you’re parking because it’s like a mile-long strip. There’s going to be parking signs everywhere you go. You can park at the [First Congregational Church] for $20. As you go in [to Brimfield] you might find other spots that are charging $10, $15. From Wednesday through Sunday, we offer $5 parking at the Dealer’s Choice. So if people’s budgets are tight, that’s always a good option for them. You might want to park your car more on the west end, because a lot of stuff’s going on on that end of town at the beginning of the week, and maybe on the east end later in the week.”
HA: Are there admission fees?
LF: “So some of the shows do charge admission, but generally they only charge admission either their first day or the first few hours they’re open. And there’s plenty of fields every day that are open that don’t charge at all. But if you want to be a part of that excitement of getting onto the field the moment it opens on a paid admission field, then you pay your $5 or $10 admission. It varies between fields. But if your budget’s tight, you don’t have to do that.”
HA: Do you think it’s really worth it to come as early as possible?
LF: “ It depends on why you’re there. We run the Dealer’s Choice and that field, although we do have a retail crowd, it’s on opening day of Brimfield. And the reason it’s so popular is because sometimes those antique dealers will [come to] my show on Tuesday and they may do another show later in the week.
“Say, for example, you’re a camera dealer. And I am a furniture dealer, and I went in and I bought a house full of furniture, and in the back corner there was a box of old cameras. And the guy says, ‘Do you mind just getting rid of those?’ So I say, ‘All right, I’ll take those.’ So when I set up at the show, I’m basically a furniture dealer, but I’ll throw that box of cameras out for 25 bucks. Well, unbeknownst to me, there’s a $2,000 camera in that box. Well, the first camera guy that spots it, he just made himself a cool about 2,000 bucks. And that’s why they’re willing to pay that extra money to go in early — because they want to get to it before someone else does.”
HA: In that case, is it worth it for the average retail shopper to come early?
LF: “If you have specific things in mind and you’re able to come earlier, it’s the better thing to do because you’ll get a better selection. I don’t want to say it’s picked over, because some of the dealers bring out new merchandise throughout the week, but it dwindles as the week goes on and it’s to your advantage to come early. Also, it’s less crowded.”
HA: Are there any food vendors you’d suggest?
LF: ”There’s a ton of food to be had there. Every field has multiple offerings in the food department. We have a woman that’s from Worcester, her name’s Teri, she’s been on my field for years, and she sells the best grilled cheese sandwiches you’ve ever had in your life. They’re to die for. And people come to Brimfield just to eat her grilled cheese sandwich.
“But you know, once again, if the budget’s tight, they can pack a lunch, go back to their car, and enjoy a meal there. They can bring their own drinks and snacks or whatever. But if they have a few extra dollars, there are so many food options to choose from. It’s great.”
HA: Is there anything else people can or should bring?
LF: “Especially in the summer, I tell people to bring drinks, stay hydrated, because we do have issues, especially with the elderly, the heat gets to them a little bit.
“And to wear good walking shoes. These are actual fields, so you don’t want to be wearing your flip-flops. This is a good day to put on a good pair of sneakers, and sometimes there’s a little bit of mud if it’s rained the day before. And also — because I don’t know that there’s anywhere in town that sells sunscreen — bring your sunscreen with you.”
HA: If you’ve got a whole day versus a few hours, or you’re staying in the area for the whole week, what would you recommend doing?
LF: “I would say it really doesn’t matter. Like, deep down, it’s wherever you end up, wherever you park your car, just you basically start hoofing it in one direction. When you reach the end, you turn around, you start in the other direction. If you have a few hours, then you’ll just see what you see. And if you’re there for the whole week, you’ll see more of it. You don’t want to rush it because there’s so much there to see — you could spend a whole day in one booth.”
P.S. — Before you hit the road for Brimfield, check out these tips from two Boston vintage store owners on what sorts of labels and quality markers to keep an eye out for as you search for secondhand treasure.
A vehicle crashed into a hair salon in Danvers, Massachusetts, leaving three people injured on Thursday.
Police said the crash happened shortly before 3:30 p.m. at Beijo Beauty on Newbury Street.
Three people inside the business suffered injuries that are believed to be non-life-threatening, police said. All three were taken by ambulance to local hospitals.
A fire official at the scene said the three patients’ injuries are considered minor. The building was evacuated after the crash.
One customer told NBC10 Boston she stood with an injured person while someone called 911, adding that her own car had been damaged.
“I was done, I was just about to get up. If I had been in my car, I would have gotten really hurt,” she said. “My car got totaled.”
Police did not say whether the driver would face any charges.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
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