Memories of a World Cup to treasure forever, on and off the field

Here’s a look at some of our reporter's favorite off-the-field and backstage moments from his travels in New Zealand and Australia.

A view of the Sydney waterfront, including the city's famed Harbour Bridge and Opera House, from a platform at the Circular Quay train station.Read moreJonathan Tannenwald / Staff

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published Aug. 25, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET

It was 10:17 a.m. Tuesday when my flight out of Sydney left the gate, and it was 6:09 a.m. Tuesday when the plane arrived in San Francisco.

I can assure you that I didn’t go back in time, because I was awake for a lot more of the 12-hour, 52-minute flight than I wanted to be. And the WiFi on board worked most of the time, so I was able to keep an eye on social media and clear out my inbox between naps.

I can also assure you that the jet lag hammered me for the next few days. I slept through almost all of the next flight, from San Francisco to Baltimore, and wasn’t all the way on to East Coast time until a few days after that.

Having now regained most of my common sense (and yes, I know many of you will say I didn’t have much to start with), I turn my focus back to the Union with a trip to their game at D.C. United on Saturday. And since there’s a NWSL game the day after featuring the Washington Spirit and Portland Thorns, I’ll stick around for that and see what story lines I can report on.

Before then, here’s a look at some of my favorite off-the-field and backstage moments from a wonderful World Cup.

Breakfasts at the hotel I stayed at in Auckland, which was on the end of a pier in the harbor and had amazing panoramic views of the waterfront. It also had a make-your-own orange juice machine that I used a lot.

The Māori and indigenous Australian welcome ceremonies before every kickoff. They were a great touch of authenticity at a tournament that FIFA tries to make feel the same no matter where in the world it’s played; and a reminder that people lived in both countries for a long time before colonizers and tourists showed up.
A day trip from Auckland to Waiheke Island, where I stopped on top of a hill and listened to an amazing chorus of birdsong on a sunny morning.

Taking in the morning birdsong chorus on Waiheke Island pic.twitter.com/JcGIagTqEW
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) July 22, 2023

The electric stadium atmospheres created by Argentina and Philippines fans in Auckland, by Colombia fans in Melbourne and Sydney, and by Australia fans in Sydney at the games I went to. The atmosphere at U.S. games, meanwhile, was surprisingly flat. Though U.S. fans traveled in huge numbers, a lot of them weren’t hardcore soccer fans. Those who I knew could tell and were as frustrated as a lot of the soccer media on hand.

Taking trains to games in Auckland and Sydney, and trams across downtown to games in Melbourne. It was fun to catch a little of the game day buzz from the community of fans. It’s an experience Union fans know too well that they don’t get to have.
The daily walk across Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour, with its postcard views of the city skyline.
The many ferry rides I took to sightsee, especially to Hobsonville Point in Auckland and up the Parramatta River in Sydney.

A food court in Auckland that had better Chinese food than anything I could get in the U.S. for similarly little money.
The pedestrian shopping arcades in Auckland and their wide range of architectural styles from old to new.
Taking the cable car uphill in Wellington, then walking downhill through the botanical gardens to the stadium on the morning of the U.S.-Netherlands game.

The packed fan zones in every city I went to, but especially Auckland and Melbourne, where fans from all over the world gathered every day, no matter who was playing.
The soaring, wavy roof of Melbourne’s Southern Cross train station, and the great Malaysian food I had there for lunch one day.
Watching Australians fall in love with the Matildas, and watching New Zealanders get to know the Football Ferns, after the teams spent years working so hard for recognition and respect.

The open stadium courts at the Australian Open tennis complex across the street from the soccer venue.
Reuniting with journalists from around the world who I rarely see in person and making new friends in the global press corps who’ve known of my work in women’s soccer but I hadn’t met before.
Standing on the field at the Melbourne and Sydney Cricket Grounds, while taking guided tours of two of the world’s most famous stadiums that Americans have never heard of.

Lunch at Manly Beach in Sydney on a 70-degree day in Australia’s winter, then putting my feet in the water for a while.
The view of Sydney Harbour from the platform at Circular Quay train station on the waterfront, an incredible panoramic vista from the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the world-famous Opera House.
Seeing the Opera House lit up in Matildas green and gold the night before the third-place game, with a beam of light projected across the harbor from the cruise ship terminal.

Sushi rolls from a takeout stand in the train station near my hotel in Sydney. I didn’t have too many memorable or exotic meals because I was busy and didn’t want to be too risky with all the traveling I was doing. So these hit the spot: a slice of katsu-style fried chicken, a cucumber spear, rice, seaweed wrap, and nothing else.
The jam-packed media center at Stadium Australia for the World Cup semifinal and final played at the home of the 2000 Summer Olympics. It was the ultimate response to people who think there’s not enough interest in women’s soccer for the media to make money from covering it.
Sitting at the World Cup final next to Meg Swanick, a Delco-based, occasional Inquirer contributor who these days is writing the Men in Blazers show’s women’s soccer newsletter. We were nearly 10,000 miles from Subaru Park, but it felt like a little bit of home.