Sometimes it’s hard to explain to non-soccer fans why entire countries shut down during the World Cup. Why otherwise outgoing people suddenly become hermits who prefer to stay home and watch replays of Saudi Arabia – Uruguay than go out for drinks. Maybe that’s why an Argentinean sketch has gone viral: it encapsulates in a relatable and hilarious way what it is to have World Cup fever.
The sketch takes place in a car, where a wife tells her husband (played by creators and real-life couple Jerónimo Freixas and Jose de Cabo) that they were invited to her cousin’s wedding. He gets excited until he learns that the wedding is on June 23rd at noon.
“There’s World Cup that day,” he replies, astonished.
“Is Argentina playing?,” asks his wife.
“No, no. It’s the 2nd match date for Group F. Germany vs Sweden, South Korea vs Mexico,” replies the man, much to his wife’s annoyance, who can’t believe he prefers to watch two foreign teams play instead of attending the wedding.
“I love weddings,” continues the man, “but that day, I want to be lying around watching South Korea vs Mexico and Germany vs Sweden! Because I’ve been waiting four years to watch those games!”
“Don’t take me out of my home during the World Cup. During the World Cup I watch the World Cup. All I care about is the World Cup,” Freixas’ character rants. Most of the Internet agrees with him.
“Whoever gets married on those dates should be charged with crimes against humanity,” commented YouTube user R B.
“My mom was in intensive therapy and I still escaped to the lobby of the hospital to watch Argentina – Netherlands at France 98… God forgive me,” confessed user giglio33012.
The clip which has been widely shared on WhatsApp and Facebook, is fully grounded in reality. It has been proven that productivity declines during the Wold Cup, even for countries that didn’t qualify for the tournament or that are eliminated early (although its impact is less than the numbers suggest.)
And those with unavoidable events, resort to multitasking.
“Is he gonna have screens up at least?” Asks Freixas in an attempt to meet his wife halfway. “If he puts up screens I’ll go,” he says. “At least I can have a gin & tonic while watching the game.”
Freixas, who has an acting school, quit his office job in October of last year to pursue his acting dreams, as he told the portal Infobae. Along with his wife, he produces videos for his Instagram and YouTube accounts. The World Cup video was shot on an afternoon, driving around a gated community in the city of Pilar, following a loose script and improvising the rest.
After the positive reception, the couple plans to shoot a second part in the coming weeks.
You can watch the original in Spanish here, and a version subtitled by a fan below: