Colombia fans take over Mill Creek Park for Banderazo ahead of match day
· Yahoo Sports
KANSAS CITY, MO — Colombian fans gave Kansas Citians a look into Colombian culture and their World Cup excitement as fans completely took over Mill Creek park for a Banderazo Thursday evening.
KC2026 urges fans to prepare for dangerous heat as World Cup crowds continue to grow“It’s a dream coming true,” Luis Castrillon, who was born in Colombia and lives in KC said. “It’s a dream coming true. We’re very happy, we’re proud that everybody come here.”
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Turning the city of fountains into a sea of yellow, it’s their way of celebrating the Colombia national team ahead of their World Cup match against Ghana on Friday.
“We have caravans driving in from every corner of the country,” Orlando Gutierrez, President of the Colombian Cultural Association said. “We know there’s some from LA, from Miami, from Chicago, from Utah, people coming in from Canada, flying in from Colombia, we expect that that number is going to rise to about 20,000 Colombians at the stadium on Friday.”
With the Colombian population growing in Kansas City for the match, for some, seeing their people come to their home away from home is the opportunity of a lifetime.
“It makes me feel, first of all, more proud to be a Colombian, but again, more proud to be a Kansas city resident,” Luis Castrillon’s son said. “One being able to support our team, it’s one of the greatest feelings we can have.”
Kansas City teens selected as flag bearers for Colombia vs Ghana World Cup matchFor Colombia super fan “El Pulpito Hinca”, participating in these celebrations is nothing new, and neither is going to the matches. Having been to the last five world cups, he feels like this year is his best chance to see colombia go all the way.
“He’s been with the team toe to toe from the start, and this is the best chance that he’s got for them to be able to win the cup, so he wants to stay around here and be a part of this process,” Alvaro Mejia, translator for “El Pulpito Hinca” said.
Thursdays celebration was put together on short notice. Orlando tells FOX4 they had all but three days to put it together, and that there’s a lot of people thank for it.
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