The most wonderful thing about the World Cup is that it’s a carnival. Not in the modern “Oh, this is a great opportunity to get Instagram photos and pretend I’m a famous person” sense of the word, but more like the medieval “Let’s reverse all our social roles, suspend our norms about desired behavior, lose our everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity while pouring libations” understanding.
At no other event is the idea of cosmopolitanism so self-evident. It’s a glorious coming together of our world with soccer serving as the unifying banner, and it only happens once every four years.
Get ready for the carnival in Russia with these photos of World Cup rowdies.
Rowdy World Cup Fan Photos
Before the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final, this guy went all in.
@GroovyTony | Twitter
This Dutch fan figured out a genius way to avoid the concession lines in 2014.
@DR_2_Giggles | Twitter
Just a bunch of Elvis Presleys.
@nbcbayarea | Twitter
A fan of Ghana, our eternal rivals.
@CallMe_Bel | Twitter
I don't know, but it's a great team effort.
@PulseOS | Twitter
Swiss cheese. Gets them every time.
@FiFa_W0rldCup | Twitter
Rihanna with an ode to Brandi Chastain.
@_celeb_fan | Twitter
The saddest man on the planet on July 8, 2014.
@catalanfan | Twitter
The cameras loved Paraguayan model Larissa Riquelme at the 2010 World Cup, so here's Larissa Riquelme again.
@Slarty247 | Twitter
Holy shit, it's Rafa Nadal!
@ cami_melescanu | Twitter
Scotland fans at their match against the Soviet Union in 1982.
@WSCsupporters | Twitter
And awaaay we go.
@GoaldenTimes | Twitter
Colombia's No. 1 fan or the stuff of nightmares?
@OldFootball11 | Twitter
A Nike ad on Brazil’s Copacabana Beach was an unintentional piece of genius in 2014.
@GoaldenTimes | Twitter
A prepared photographer at the '78 World Cup in Argentina.
@OldFootball11 | Twitter
Just a day out in 1986.
@OldFootball11 | Twitter
A France fan and his rooster in 1982.
@OldFootball11 | Twitter
English fan tries to punch an Argentine, misses and punches his buddy in the face.
@GoaldenTimes | Twitter
Italian fans had love for Salvatore Schillaci at Italia ’90.
@OldFootball11 | Twitter
A 20-year-old George Best watches the 1966 World Cup Final at Wembley.
@GoaldenTimes | Twitter
England fans in Spain during the 1982 World Cup. Youch.
@Jxhn_x | Twitter
If I could travel back in time, I'd go to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
@MATTSMATTS | Twitter
On second thought...
@_yon_mon | Twitter
BUT THEN AGAIN!
@AntiqueFootball | Twitter
Irish fans at Italia ’90 (you absolutely should not do this)
@IndoArchives | Twitter
This one just kills me.
@HistoricalPlays | Twitter
The Dutch fans will be missed in Russia.
@BigBrain61 | Twitter
England fans take joy in Diego Maradona's failed drug test.
@90sfootball | Twitter
Irish fan grabbing some snacks.
@RTEArchives | Twitter
A man welcomes visitors to the '94 World Cup with a sign of himself welcoming visitors to the '94 World Cup.
@biggySF | Twitter
No fresher cut in 2002 than the Ronaldo.
@GoaldenTimes | Twitter
World Cup '98 — Scotland hasn't been back since.
@BeyondTLM | Twitter
"I have ridden the breadth of the land."
@HOMESofFOOTBALL | Twitter