THE FIFTYTOFOURTEEN PROJECT
The #50to14 Project was started by Calen Carr and Josh Farber to collect moments of inspiration around the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. To commemorate the last time Brazil hosted the world cup (1950), #50to14 shared 50 days of impactful stories leading up to and throughout the FIFA 2014 World Cup.
THE WORLD IS YOURS ||
The ability to create something out of nothing is what makes the Seleção different from nearly any other team in the tournament, and it is often born out of a culture that amidst real hardship, finds real opportunity - a Brazilian spirit of positivity. The saying, "For the love of the game," is oft over-used and rendered hollow - but for this little boy - in his homage to the great fenomeno @ronaldolima - it couldn't be more sincere.
IMAGINE || NOFILTER
"Beauty and pride in a community and it’s people achieved by something as simple as a splash of paint proved to be of major importance and just as vital as education and healthcare." - Haas & Hanh || as the world descends upon Brazil, the people of the Santa Marta favela in Rio, alongside dutch painters and activists Haas & Hanh, once written-off as an eyesore, have reimagined themselves as a living, breathing, work of art. In the midst of large-scale social unrest and protests over pervasive government corruption in the lead-up to the World Cup, a community coming together in the face of real hardship to recreate their community as a symbol of resilience, ingenuity, and beauty could not be more timely or profound. Check out more about the painted favelas project here.
LIFT OFF || NO FILTER
words courtesy of Houston Dynamo midfielder WARREN CREAVALLE @malik_lebeau || photography courtesy of @vrmtpro || "The World Cup was always something that was surreal and seemingly far out of reach. Now, I have peers, co-workers, and friends vying for and taking the opportunity for that trip to Brazil with their respective national teams. These are the same peers, co-workers, and friends that I contend with on a daily basis. Though that is nowhere near the end of the dream, it does, however, make the dream seem much less abstract.” - Warren
DOCTOR SOCRATES||
Easily recognizable for his beard and headband, Sócrates became the symbol of cool for a whole generation of football supporters in the 70's and 80's. Alongside a reputation as a heavy drinker and partier, Socrates became a licensed doctor of medicine during his playing career and went on to write in newspapers and magazines not only about sports, but politics and economics as well. || "Machiavelli claimed that it is better to be feared than loved, but this is a choice the Seleçao doesn't have to make. She is feared and loved. Feared by opponents on the field and loved by anyone who loves football. In Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, wearing a shirt of the Brazilian team doesn't even indicate that you are Brazilian, just that you love football." - Socrates
PELADA || "PICK-UP"
words by former @chicagofire forward/midfielder @davispaul || "Kids play in the US as a coach tells them, but how would kids play if they just felt the game? What if they played free of authority and judgement? Imagine if kids didn't have to chase a ball around big open fields. What if the game always had to be played on the ground & games didn't need to be scheduled, but simply found. I stumbled upon this complex crammed between Rocinha favela and road, where literally fifty kids were running around. Every group had their own game and their own rules. Goals were irrelevant - teams and structure not needed - they just wanted the ball at their feet and a defender to beat." - Davis
NO CHURCH IN THE WILD ||
Diego Armando Maradona Franco, tattoo'd with Ché Guevara on his shoulder, is seen smoking a Cohiba while sailing off the coast of Havana, Cuba. || "If one day our armed forces have to defend our country, there will be soldier Maradona, because first and foremost I am an Argentine." - Diego || Ché and Diego, Argentines of modest beginnings, are somehow exhaustingly well-documented, yet widely misunderstood global iconic figures. Men of true conviction, they were peaceful and poetic - yet at times ferocious and avenging. In their narratives they each have been depicted as both hero and villain - revolutionaries deified by some in their pursuit of justice and censured by others for their perceived zealotry. Prolifically creative, in the end each found their demise inescapable - Maradona in soccer by his own undoings, and Ché by the CIA-backed Bolivian forces in La Higuera - where he was captured and executed. Today, they exist as symbolic of seemingly incongruent values - on the one hand anti-establishment, counter-culture insurgence - while on the other, mainstream, misappropriated commercialism. One thing is for sure - They are transcendent folk-heroes in Argentina and beyond - "San Diego" and "El Ché" - champions of the little-man and the underdog spirit. Their love for Argentina and commitment to the Latin-American cause was unflinching - emblematized by Maradona's "Hand of God" '86 WC quarter-final goal vs England, and Ché's guerrilla uprising against western imperial forces. Ché's pop-stylized visage seems only right tattoo'd on such an equally complex character - a brother in arms - El Dieguito. Maradona puts it best himself, saying, "It was time that the two greatest Argentines were united in the same body."
COPAcabana, sf
“If I went to Brazil I wouldn’t come home. I’d be knocked up on the beach somewhere drinking capirinhas. Maybe reverse the order.” - Stephanie, San Francisco
SKY'S THE LIMIT ||
#USMNT CB @geoffcameron not just entering the field today wearing the badge of his country at the World Cup, but the ink of his family crest, as well. || photography by the talented @austincaryrhodes || "I have the words, Discipline, Dedication, Desire," tattooed on my left shoulder. These are words my dad would tell me when I was a kid growing up. To accomplish anything you need to have discipline to do the right thing... fully commit yourself and be dedicated to reach that goal - even in the face of failure. And the desire part comes from your heart, it's what you dream about at night." - GC
THE BLACK PEARL ||
Pele, only 8 years old at the time, recalls seeing his father cry for the 1st time that night of the 1950 Maracanazo, and promised him that he would win him the World Cup to make him happy again. He did just that only 8 years later at the age of 16 - and for good measure twice more - in 1962 and 1970. By 1961, President Jânio Quadros declared Pelé a national treasure.