I walked into Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, unable to tell you a single rule of soccer, but ironically, excited for what I knew would become one of the best sporting events I’ve ever attended.
That’s not to say I hadn’t been to a soccer match before. I live in Washington, DC, after all, and the D.C. United team is right in my backyard.
I’ve been to plenty of games, but it’s usually a social affair. I sit in the suite, enjoy a couple of drinks, and talk to friends. Very cutesy. Very demure. The World Cup, on the other hand? It doesn’t feel built for the casual soccer game-goer. Boy, was I wrong.
Although watching from the suite gets you a few perks, it doesn’t get you out of the traffic. I commuted from West Hollywood to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which took close to two hours. Once I was actually there, figuring out where to go and making it through the lines added another 45 minutes to an hour to that.
Let’s just say I was happy to finally make it to the suite at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on June 12, to watch the USA take on Paraguay in the tournament’s opening match.
By the time the final whistle blew, I understood the sport a lot better, but I also understood something else: once you’ve watched a match from a room like that, going back to a regular ticket is going to feel like a real adjustment.
I accessed the suite through a membership program
I accessed the suite through SoFi Plus, the company’s membership program that costs $10 a month.
For the opening match alone, suites, which can hold up to 26 people, can cost from $80,000 to $209,000, so I felt like I had gotten a steal.
As soon as you walk in, you’re greeted by an attendant, a fully stocked bar, and swag gifts. For this game, the suite gift was a commemorative glass ticket.
Talk to any of my friends, and they’ll tell you that I’m obsessed with a stadium chicken tender. It’s my favorite part of being in the suites.
There weren’t any that night, so I went with the sushi instead, then worked through the pasta, chicken, and burgers as the night went on. The suite also had a solid dessert spread.
Nothing fancy about how it worked; the food just kept coming, and nobody had to leave the suite to get it or stand in lines.
The celebrities and performances were the highlight of the World Cup opener
Opening night came with a lineup that, upon first glance, sounds like it could be the artist lineup for Coachella, and I’m shocked they fit them all in before the game.
Katy Perry, LISA, Rema, Anitta, and Future all performed as part of the night’s entertainment.
Now, did I miss both Future and Tyla because of the traffic on the way to the stadium? Sure did. And though disappointing, the rest of the evening definitely made up for it.
Because we were just steps away from Hollywood, many celebrities, including Chloe Bailey, Dylan Efron, Brianne Howey, Sterling K. Brown, and Jay Ellis, attended the game. And that’s just who I spotted.
There’s something disorienting about watching a global sporting event next to people you’ve only ever seen on a screen before. Do I speak? Do I not speak? Do I pretend like I don’t know them? Or do I praise them for their work that I admire? I did a bit of both depending on the person. Sports bring you together after all.
The match was happening on the field, but it was also happening in the stadium.
I picked up the rules faster than I expected, mostly by watching the room react before I reacted. A few minutes in, I stopped needing the cue. It also helped that it was easy to know who to root for when one of the teams was the United States.
The final score — USA 4, Paraguay 1 — says a lot about how the night played out.
By the time the match ended, the World Cup had earned more respect from me than I expected, and I’d fully accepted that I’m spoiled now.
Although I probably wouldn’t watch a World Cup game from a suite without the heavy discounts, I’m glad I got access for the comfort alone.
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