San Jose, Costa Rica. September 5, 2013 – There is no doubt that tomorrow’s World Cup Qualifying match between the national teams of Costa Rica and the United States will probably be the most exciting in CONCACAF’s history. Tickets to the Chinese-donated National Stadium are completely sold-out, and authorities are keeping a close eye on scalpers.

The Centro Cultural Norteamericano (North American Cultural Center), a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the close relations between Costa Rica and the U.S., will broadcast the game at the Eugene O’Neill Theater in San Pedro, in the eastern suburbs of San Jose. This is a great option for those without tickets to the game; here’s the description of the theater:

The Eugene O’Neill Theater (TEO) is located in the main branch of Centro Cultural in San Pedro, and is the fourth largest theater in the country.

TEO is a 300-seat facility equipped with 2 dressing rooms, a modern, high-quality Bose sound system, a state-of-the-art digital lighting system and air conditioning. The theater-style, inclined floor plan guarantees perfect sound quality and visibility from any point in the room.

The stakes are very high for this game; not only are both teams in the running to lead the CONCACAF’s race to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, there is also the unresolved matter of the Snow Game to settle.

The U.S. team has already felt slightly unwelcome; according to online sports site Deadspin, the U.S. players and staff were declined priority immigration and customs check-in at the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), and they were allegedly offered subpar training fields. Deadspin thinks that Tico fans have gone beyond heckling to trolling, and national newspaper La Nacion reported that a couple of eggs were thrown at the U.S. team’s bus.

Deadspin commenters, who are the most clever in the online sports media world, have had their fun at the happenings thus far:

“CONCACAF is the MAC of soccer.”

“If some US billionaires were really patriotic, they would just buy Costa Rica. […] Make it happen, Paul Allen.”

“If the streets are blocked, just get the US military to bring some helicopters to fly the players to the stadium. Maybe play some Ride of the Valkyries during the final descent for good measure. ”             

“if they want to be wimps about it, they’ll take helicopters. They need to do this tru ‘merican style with a few tanks and humvees pushing civilian cars out of the way. Let em know rule of law is still force. Let the Costa Rican military stop…oh wait they don’t exist!”   

“What Costa Rica should be doing is distracting the USMNT with adorable baby sloths.”

A donation of 1,000 colones (about $2) is all it takes to catch the historic game at the O’Neill Theater, and this includes a courtesy drink. For more information and reservations, call 2207-7594