Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Hello, New York City, and welcome back to "The Morning Pitch." You give us five minutes; we'll give you the World Cup.
The round of 16 has arrived at New York-New Jersey Stadium: Brazil versus Norway. Vini Jr. versus Haaland. Joga Bonito versus the Nordic Vikings. The winner is in the quarterfinals, only a few matches away from immortality. And it's all being decided just across the Hudson. Here's what those planning to attend the game in person need to know. Let's start with the weather. These past few days have been scorching. Back-to-back hundred-degree days. Brutal humidity.
Thank you to every person who helped New Yorkers stay cool, who looked out for their neighbor [and] who shared some water and sunscreen with someone in need. And thank you to the city workers - EMS workers, the lifeguards, the street canvassers, the DOB inspectors and so many more who have helped keep New Yorkers safe and moving.
While we have made it through the worst of it, it will remain very hot today and our Heat Emergency Plan remains in effect. You should continue to take precautions. Cooling centers are open. As always, please stay hydrated, stay in the shade and keep applying sunscreen. Continue to check in on friends and family, especially older adults. If you see someone outside and vulnerable, call 311. If you or someone you know has trouble breathing, a rapid heartbeat, nausea, dizziness or other symptoms of heat exhaustion, call 911.
Summer heat means thunderstorms are possible. If they do happen, seek shelter and let the dangerous conditions pass. And as always, text NOTIFYNYC to 692-692 to stay up to date. As you travel to the stadium, please do so on public transit. With school out of session, we have more bus availability on our World Cup shuttles, which you can find at nynjfwc26.com. If you'd rather take the train, you can buy your New Jersey Transit ticket by going to njtworldcup.com. This is still a holiday weekend and traffic will be unpredictable. So, please plan to leave several hours before the match begins.
If you get there early, I kindly suggest that you encourage Bruno Guimarães to sign for Arsenal. As with every World Cup match, we are expecting heavy traffic and significant travel delays, especially in Midtown. I want to encourage New Yorkers to leave the car at home and to use public transit to bike or to walk.
Bus and shuttle corridors and lanes will begin at 10 a.m. and remain in effect until 10 p.m. Fifth and Sixth Avenues from 42nd Street to 59th Street will be dedicated to buses and shuttles, as will 42nd Street from First to 12th Avenue, West 40th Street between Eighth and 11th Avenues, and West 41st Street between Eighth and 10th Avenues. If you're planning on watching somewhere in the five boroughs, make sure you take advantage of the $26 drink-and-meal deal program being offered by more than 900 restaurants and bars, many of which are offering collectible cups. Go to nyctourism.com and scroll down to the Five Borough Winners Special to find the full list.
And if you want to ride an R train wrapped in Brazil's yellow and green or a 2 train wrapped in Norway's red and white, just download the latest version of the MTA app and look for the soccer ball symbol on the schedule. As we look forward to Brazil versus Norway, I know that many of us are also thinking about tomorrow's match, when the USA will take on the Red Devils of Belgium. We will be without our star striker, Folarin Balogun, who was cruelly sent off after scoring a beautiful first-half goal. VAR giveth and VAR taketh away.
And yet, Balogun finds himself in rare company. Only three other players in World Cup history have scored in a knockout match and then been sent off. All three are greats of the game. Zidane. Ronaldinho. And the man whose name is still legend in Brazil, who generations of dazzling wingers have sought to emulate: Garrincha, who was red carded in the 1962 semifinal against Chile. Everything about Garrincha's greatness felt impossible. He was born with polio, with legs of different lengths, with doctors telling his mother that her son would never walk. In a sense, they were right. Garrincha rarely walked. He zigged and zagged. He darted and danced. He floated and flowed. He glided just a few inches above the pitch.
When Garrincha played for Botafogo, it was without fear. He nutmegged professionals twice his age. He dribbled around defenders as if they were traffic cones. He played with a freedom and an ease that earned him a nickname, one that spoke to what he meant to everyday Brazilians: the joy of the people.
The players who are never forgotten, who endure forever in the memory - they do so because they feel, in some small way, like they belong to us. Garrincha belonged to the people because he was of the people. He was born into poverty. He never fully learned to read. His father wrestled with alcoholism. Brazil, a nation in the midst of tremendous upheaval in the 50s and 60s, was still working to find itself - and so too was Garrincha. When Brazil won the World Cup in 1962, Garrincha stole the show, finishing as joint top scorer with four goals. Twenty years later, at only 49, he was dead. The boy who was born poor died poor, so destitute he could not even afford a funeral. But the people showed up for the man who had given them so much joy. A fan paid for the burial. And when his casket traveled down the streets of Rio de Janeiro, the city came to a standstill. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the sidewalk. Traffic was gridlocked for miles. Drivers left their cars in the streets to walk to the church.
Football holds a rare power. The power to lift a boy born with nothing to his name into the pantheon of greatness. The power to give billions worldwide a glimpse into another world -one beyond jobs that don't pay enough, bills that pile up and leaders who never meet their promises. The power to deliver joy to the people.
This afternoon, as we watch two top teams compete, we will find ourselves debating controversial refereeing decisions. Passes that go backwards, and yes, hydration breaks. But let us look for the joy too. For the player who tries something inventive. The move that no one expected. The skill that gets the people up on their feet. Enjoy the match, New York City.
