Scott Swearengen knew he was fortunate. He had friends in Brazil baffled at how he scored tickets to five FIFA World Cup games in Rio de Janeiro when even they couldn't get them.
'I was checking my e-mail like twice a day,' said the 40-year-old urban planning consultant from Riverview. 'It was really euphoric when I found out that I had gotten them.'
He'll be one of a handful of Tampa Bay residents who will see the inside of stadiums during the quadrennial international soccer tournament. Fans from around the world requested more than 10 million tickets but only 2.57 million had been awarded by April, according to FIFA. Only 154,412 were allocated to Americans.
Some of Swearengen's friends applied, but weren't able to score because of hesitation and the specificity of their request, he said. He applied online at FIFA.com when the first wave of applications were being accepted from August to October 2013.
'I chose the package to get any five games in Rio,' he said. 'And the trick was they asked me if I would be willing to take tickets on a lower price tier if the ones I asked for weren't available, and I clicked yes.'
That flexibility got him easily through the process. When the tickets were awarded lottery-style weeks later, he found out he'd made the cut. Other selections, such as tickets specifically for the opening match or the final, or a package that allowed a fan to follow their team around the country, were met with less success.
But it wasn't impossible for Dave Anderson to see the exact game he wanted. Anderson had previously purchased tickets through a resale for a soccer match in Ukraine, and he went back to that source for tickets to the United States' opening game against Ghana.
'I trust the reseller because I have done this before,' said Anderson, 32, owner of promotions company Nocturnal Productions Group.
While he and his business partner head off to Natal, Brazil this month, his company will host a tournament pool and game watch parties at Renzo's in South Tampa. 'I decided to go, like, literally four months ago,' he said. 'So doing the traditional ticket application wasn't going to happen.'
Because Anderson started making his plans after the groups were selected in December's draw, he was able to laser-target his search, selecting the game he wanted to see, which ultimately dictated which city he would be visiting.
'It was definitely an investment type of thing,' he said. 'We got lucky finding a condo on the beach in the middle of the nightlife district to stay in for a reasonable rate. At this point even the Best Western is going for $500 a night.'
Though the U.S. is the nation with second highest number of tickets allocated (behind Brazil, which accounts for more than 60 percent of tickets sold), it's unlikely that there will be large contingents of Americans in any World Cup cities, amid persistent media reports of violence and protests in the host country.
Swearengen and Anderson both say those worries won't stop them from fulfilling their lifelong dreams of seeing a World Cup in person.
'They are going to get attention of foreigners from 100 different countries, so (Brazil) will do their best,' Swearengen said. 'Everything should be safe and run smoothly. I'm not concerned about safety outside the stadiums because I'm street smart and always thinking a couple steps ahead.'
Tampa Bay soccer fans headed to Brazil for World Cup 06/05/14