Lionel Messi’s World Cup moment ‘priceless’ for fans who witnessed it in KC

Kansas City will live on forever in the lore of the World Cup.

Lionel Messi put on one of the greatest performances in World Cup history Tuesday night, recording his first World Cup hat trick and becoming the oldest player to score at the World Cup.

Despite some empty patches throughout the upper bowl of “Kansas City Stadium,” 69,045 people witnessed Messi’s greatness.

This is undoubtedly the costliest World Cup to attend, ever. Amid parking lot and bus service issues, and with hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars spent just to be present Tuesday night, The Star asked people whether it was worth it.

“One hundred percent,” said Israel Gross, who had tickets in the lower bowl with his son. “This is the best money I’ve ever spent on a sporting event.”

Gross came from Chicago with his son, Asher, who loves to play soccer. He is a well-traveled sports fanatic, too, and says he’s worked at Wrigley Field for 25 years.

“I’ve been to the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup Finals,” Gross said. “I was at Game 7 when the Cubs won the World Series.”

He paused …

“This is the best sporting atmosphere I’ve ever been at,” he finished.

The Argentine support delivered the sights and sounds that organizers could only have dreamed of when the defending World Cup champions were drawn to play in Kansas City. At least 85% of the stadium was there for Argentina and Messi, just on a visual estimate.

Arrowhead did what it is designed to do — keep noise in and amplify it — and the cauldron of songs, whistles and drums turned the historic cathedral of sport into the famed Estadio Monumental or La Bombonera in Buenos Aires for the night.

“I’m glad that people will get to see how Argentinians enjoy soccer,” said Maria, a fan who traveled from Miami to Kansas City with her husband Pablo and their daughter Penelope. They’re on to Dallas next, faithfully following “La Seleccion.”

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni praised the atmosphere on Tuesday night.

“I only wish people back in Argentina were able to see what I saw,” Scaloni said.

While some Kansas Citians might scoff at the concept that soccer at the home of the Chiefs could compare to a fall Sunday atmosphere, those who were there on Tuesday won’t.

“For me? (Tonight was) better,” said Jordan, a fan from Concordia, Missouri.

He attended the game with his family of four, his two sons ecstatic to see Messi. The joy on their faces when asked about their favorite parts of Messi’s performance was exactly what Jordan and probably many other families who forked over the money and sat through the chaos of the entry process hoped for.

But it wasn’t just locals and Argentinians. Fans traveled from Miami, Austin and Philadelphia — and even as far as China, Mexico City and Ecuador. Most of them had one thing in common: the number 10 on the backs of their shirts.

Looking down at those in the upper bowl, it seemed like the only jersey number people had was Messi’s.

Juan, an Argentinian from Austin, Texas, explained how much of a hero Messi is to his home country.

“For Argentinians, he’s everything,” Juan said. “He’s a hero. He represents us to the world. It’s his last work”

It is Messi’s record sixth World Cup. It will also be his last, which makes the yearning to travel and follow — despite the exorbitant cost — even greater for the fanatical support of Messi and Argentina.

Celebrations break out at Kansas City Stadium

The celebrations started the night before at Café Corazon and Mill Creek Park. They continued all through the night, even late, when Argentina fans quickly learned from Chiefs fans making their exit up and down the spiral ramp of Arrowhead, using the metal facings as a drum.

They sang and danced on repeat:

Ole, ole, ole

Ole, ole, ole, ola

Ole, ole, ole

Cada día te quiero más

Soy Argentino

Es un sentimiento

Que no puedo parar

It continued on repeat for nearly an hour after the final whistle at the bottom of the ramp.

The translation?

“Every day I love you more. I’m Argentine. It’s a feeling that I can’t stop.”

More fan reactions at Arrowhead

Attending was an obvious decision, according to Amir, who traveled from Ecuador.

“I’ve been a Messi fan since I was born,” Amir said. “I said, ‘I have to see Messi for the last time in a World Cup.’”

Leandro Avechian spent the first 25 years in his home country of Argentina before moving to Mexico City.

“Four years ago I used to work a lot,” Avechian said. “Now it’s time to live. I decided to come here for the second one.”

Avechian was hinting at a back-to-back World Cup win for Argentina. That performance on Tuesday was a good start. But there is still a long way to go.

And there was one more question to answer, once again: Was it all worth it?

“It was totally worth it,” Avechian said before joining in with the celebrations inside the spiral ramp. “This is priceless.”

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.