Apparently Brazilian soccer fans did not appreciate USWNT goalie Hope Solo’s public ranting about the pervasive Zika virus in Brazil leading up to the Olympic Games. Now that the U.S. is actually in Brazil and playing its opening round games, those fans finally had their chance to tell Solo just how they felt about her.
Whenever she touched the ball in Wednesday’s match versus New Zealand, Solo was met with a chorus of boos, and on the occasions where she booted the ball — chants of “ZI-KA.”
Even though Solo backed off her earlier hardline stance on the virus and deflected blame to the American media for overhyping the Zika concerns at the games, the damage was apparently already done with fans unhappy with her post on Instagram as seen below.
Although the booing and chanting might seem a little ridiculous, it is obvious the negative coverage of the Olympics has gotten under the collective skin of the Brazilian people. Of course, it is not their fault the virus exists and is rampant in the country, but after months of unrelenting negativity, it is hard to blame them for taking all that bad press personally.
As for Solo, she was predictably unfazed by the treatment, and even said that noise was better than no noise at all.
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About Ben Sieck
Ben is a recent graduate of Butler University where he served as Managing Editor and Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Butler Collegian. He currently resides in Indianapolis.