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Adelfo Mendoza always dreamed of attending a World Cup match. When the tournament came to his home city of Chicago in 1994, the tickets were out of reach.
"I was trying to get a ticket to see the World Cup, and I called the broker and the broker said yes, 'I have tickets left it's $700,'" Adelfo said. "I talked to my wife, and then, it was a lot of money. It was too expensive."
That missed opportunity became a family story his son, Cuauhtemoc Mendoza, never forgot. On Father's Day this year, he decided to give it a new ending.
"In '94, that's when you bought the house and I was born in '94, so that was a big year for him," Cuauhtemoc said. "And to hear that they were coming back to the states, I thought it was a full circle moment to kind of give him a chance to go this time."
Now, 32 years later, Adelfo, his son, son-in-law Rafael and his son's best friend Diquan will experience the tournament together.
"Aw man, it meant everything to me," Cuauhtemoc said. "I did anything and everything to make it possible, to make it happen, and I'm grateful we got the chance to do it on Father's Day."
For those joining Adelfo, the moment carries its own weight. Rafael said the family's history made the gift feel even more meaningful.
"You hear the stories and how he wished he could've went, and you just feel the passion," Rafael said.
Diquan Weaver, the son's best friend, said he is taking nothing for granted.
"It'll probably be the first and the last time to experience it, so I'm just happy to be here," Weaver said.
For Adelfo, the game itself is secondary to simply being there.
"It doesn't matter who's playing. It's just to be a part of the World Cup," Adelfo said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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