As the World Cup moves toward its conclusion this weekend, these photographs from NPR station photographers look beyond the stadium pitches to the places where fans gathered to take in the games. At watch parties just outside the stadiums' gates, on street corners and in public parks and squares, these photos capture the rituals, anticipation, joy, disappointment and celebration that unfolded as the World Cup became, for a brief period, a part of local life. Accompanied by firsthand reflections from the photographers, these images offer a glimpse of how local communities gathered to share in the Cup, as well as the observations that stayed with the photographers who documented it.
Guests in the Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center's wave pool watch Norway play against Senegal on June 22 in Chula Vista, California. The resort was filled with young families for Father's Day, hoping to beat a heat wave, and as soon as the game came on, people began to gather around the screen.
Riley Arthur/KPBS
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