120 final minutes with Grant Wahl
I was sitting next to Grant Wahl during the Argentina - Netherlands game in which he suffered a fatal collapse
Flowers to remember Grant Wahl in the seat he was assigned for the France - England game at Al Bayt stadium. Crédito: Rafael Cores | Impremedia
DOHA, Qatar – Media Tribune Desk: Block 607 / Desk 407 / Seat C
That is the seat in the press box at the Lusail Stadium that Grant Wahl was assigned to in order to cover the quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands.
It was the last seat in that row. To the right of him there was a metallic structure that serves as a separation and that hides the necessary wiring for the computers. To the left of him, me, in seat B.
Journalists who ask for a ticket to cover a match inside the stadium are grouped by their outlet’s country. Last night I was assigned to sit next to Grant Wahl for the first time in this World Cup.
Grant was the last one to arrive at the desk, just before the national anthemns were to be played. Strangely enough, someone was sitting in his place, probably another journalist who needed a table (when there is no place for everyone, sometimes they give you a regular seat, not comfortable to work and with no Internet connection) who was hoping that the space was available. Grant showed him his ticket and the man moved by hopping to the row below.
Grant Wahl is the best-known soccer journalist in the United States. No doubt. I had met him several times in New York and on occasion we had chatted briefly.
Upon reaching our position, he greeted the writer on my left, they had known each other for years, they were close [he asked me not to mention his name], and we exchanged a brief “Hello, how are you” while he plugged in his computer on the strip that was at my feet. He was wearing a black T-shirt, without any message or other colors. We immediately opened our laptops, took our glasses out of our cases —mine, brown; his, black— and we focused on the game that was about to start.
During the first half, the three of us who shared the desk exchanged some comments. The genius of Messi in Argentina’s first goal, the few Dutchmen that were seen in the stadium, that Mateu Lahoz was a good referee…
When the stands began to sing “Muchachos, ahora nos volvimos a ilusionar”, I commented on the origin of the song, talking in Spanish to another colleague who was two places to my left. The topic interested the rest, so we all started chatting in English about the fan who had written the lyrics, how the singer of La Mosca Tse-tse invited him to record with them and how it had become this World Cup’s best song.
At halftime, Grant stayed in his seat. I don’t remember him even getting up to stretch a bit. I didn’t move from the desk either, although I did stand up for a couple of minutes.
I was the only one in our row wearing a mask. It was the first day that I put it on because I was congested for the last 48 hours. Grant coughed multiple times during the match. I thought for a moment: “Everyone here should wear a mask.” Later I found out that he though he had been suffering from bronchitis for a few days.
During the second half we commented that Van Gaal never came off the bench, while Scaloni was on the field all the time. We disagreed on a yellow card for a foul in the middle of the field. We wondered how it is possible that Messi misses so many penalties, just before he made the 2-0.
Then Wout Weghorst’s scored twice for the Netherlands when everything seemed decided. I had my story almost finished. Extra time. Time to rewrite. We discussed the paradox that Van Gaal had put a player on the field with a yellow card -Weghorst, for protesting at the end of the first half from the bench- and he scored two goals.
Extra time went off fast. We were all focused in our computers. In those moments in the media tribune little is said, everyone is concentrated on their work.
In the second half of extra time the noise in the stadium was tremendous, with Argentina fans increasing the pressure. My smartwatch sent an alert when it exceeds 90 decibels. I saw it, I found it funny and I decided to take a picture of it.
It was 12:37 am, according to the photo file on my iPhone. Exactly at that moment, when I was taking the picture, I heard the colleague on my left: “Grant, Grant! What’s happening. Grant!”.
I turned to my right and saw Grant Wahl sitting in his chair having a seizure, mostly unconscious. I started calling him too, I slapped his face trying to get him to react while we yelled for a doctor. I got behind him and held him under his arms, not knowing what to do, helpless.
The first to arrive were another journalist who seemed to know first aid and a nurse. She tried to get him to react. Shortly after she asked us to lay him down on the floor. We had to remove the chairs because there was no space. They began to do CPR on him. More paramedics came. They treated him with other resources.
It was exactly half an hour. The extra time ended and the penalties shootout went through. The Argentines were still celebrating on the pitch with their fans when, at 1:07 am, Grant was taken away on a stretcher, with oxygen and a drip.
One of the nurses who treated him told me that they were taking him to a hospital and that she hoped he could recover because he had a pulse. I mentioned that to some colleagues who were still there.
I helped one of Grant’s friends to pick up his things. One arm of his glasses was totally bent, almost broken. I tried to fix it and put it in the black case. I shut down his computer. I disconnected the cables. I left the adapter in the socket. I bent down again to pick it up. We put it all in his bag.
Then I started to collect my things. My computer was covered with first aid supplies. We went down in the elevator. I commented to some colleagues that the nurse was optimistic.
We left the stadium through gate 2. Argentina was having a party.
