Island dreams
Oh, hi! I haven’t written in a few years, for many personal, industry, and book-publishing (which turned into unexpected self-publishing) reasons, but I have slowly found myself cracking the knuckles and thinking about writing. So, I thought I’d start with a run-on sentence. Check.
In all seriousness, I sat here for a bit and wondered what I should write first. Could it be about tech, design, or AI-ing of everything? Please, no. In the current state of tech and inclusion work, it’s honestly a bit too depressing for me to write about. I put a lot into my book, and for now, that’s the place to go to read about those topics. Should it be about my favorite sauces that I told my friend, Eric, about one Saturday? I will probably start drafting that. I see myself writing a lot about food—it’s my favorite topic, a cultural feast of information, and probably my favorite hobby. And yes, I count the umbrella of food to be a hobby with many, many sub-hobbies. Ask anyone who speaks to me regularly, and I will turn any conversation into something about food, and no, it’s not a threat (maybe!). I may write about a cool bug I found, pottery, or just whatever comes to mind. I may end up sharing stories, photos, or feelings about entering a new decade of my life. But for now, all I want to write about is one thing and one thing only:
THE CURAÇAO NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM IS GOING TO THE WORLD CUP.
Along with other tiny but mighty island nations such as Haiti, Curaçao delivered a surprising underdog upset in the recent World Cup qualifiers, securing its spot in the 2026 World Cup. This qualification of the team, known as The Blue Wave, is special for a few reasons besides my growing up there. For one, until now, the smallest country to ever qualify was Iceland, in 2018, with about 350,000 inhabitants. Curaçao’s population is about 150,000, so it now holds the record for the smallest country to ever qualify by population. It’s also tiny at 444 sq kilometers or about 171 sq miles.
Another reason this is kind of a big deal is that Curaçao only became its own country (within the Dutch kingdom) in October of 2010. That means they’ve only had a national team attempt to qualify in 2014, 2018, 2022, and now, 2026. Four World Cup qualifying opportunities. I saw them in CONCACAF games in San Antonio, Texas, in 2018 against Mexico. In case you aren’t aware, San Antonio is not far from Mexico, so imagine how wild it was to be one of four Curaçao fans (who all knew each other) attending that game against a team that has almost always qualified for the World Cup, a few hours’ drive away. Curaçao lost, and fans either laughed at us or asked us for photos. We were still proud, then, and even more proud now. Curaçao closed government offices and cut school hours in half to celebrate the 2026 qualifying team returning from the final draw with Jamaica, and gave them an island-wide parade.
While this team is new, football isn’t new to us. Technically, Curaçao was a team starting in 1924, known as the Territory of Curaçao national team. In 1954, Curaçao and 5 other Caribbean islands became the Netherlands Antilles, forming a new team. Neither team entered nor ever qualified. For the most part, until 2010, many played for the Netherlands national team (KNVB) rather than the Netherlands Antilles. Growing up, World Cup and Euro Cup Dutch game days meant classes were cancelled, everyone wore orange (the color of the royal house), and the entire island watched. Most high schoolers who are primarily taught in Dutch go to college in the Netherlands. There’s pride for the Netherlands team, and pride for the Curaçao team. Of course, I saw many comments, not just from game announcers but also from social media keyboard experts, saying they couldn’t believe almost all the Curaçao players were born in the Netherlands. The game announcers were sharing a fact without judgment, but the online folks were so sure they had solved the internet’s latest case. I think they didn’t know what FIFA rules are for multinational players: generally, birth or ancestry-based ties to a country, or at least a few years of residence, or the Curaçao-Netherlands history. Either way, the players chose to tie their legacy to Curaçao, where they are deeply and directly connected and can’t easily switch back and forth as they want. Watch a single video of the Curaçao team’s locker room pep talk and prayer. You’ll hear all of the players speak Papiamentu, a Portuguese creole language from Curaçao, and a few other islands. Still, you won’t hear Dutch until the coaches—led by 78-year-old Dick Advocaat, one of the most celebrated coaches in the Netherlands and Europe—start speaking. In regular seasons, many play for Dutch leagues, the English Premier League, and a handful of other international leagues, and represent a host of different upbringings, cultures, and ethnicities.
What an incredible moment in history for a small, volcanically formed rock 40 miles north of South America, with North and South American TV channels, Dutch and local radio, Indonesian-influenced cuisine (from Dutch colonization), and 4 languages spoken by almost everyone (Dutch, English, Spanish, and Papiamentu)!