The Incredible Scenes As Lionel Messi and Argentina Players Celebrate With +5 Million Fans
68Argentina has shut down on Tuesday as the nation celebrates Lionel Messi and the men's national team in their return from Qatar 2022, where they won the country's third World Cup title and first since 1986.
With the squad in an open-top bus in the cooking summer sun of Buenos Aires, estimates have 4-5 million fans who took over the streets. It was declared a national holiday in Argentina which is why so many people were able to take to the streets.
We saw some crazy scenes of fans taking over highways, fans climbing on structures, vandalism, and even a few people who tried to jump onto the team bus. But we also saw some beautiful scenes as well: a marriage proposal, a game of keepy-uppie, and a whole lot of singing. Either way, it will go down as one of the great demonstrations of love by an entire country for a single team -- many called it the largest demonstration of any kind in Argentina history.
It wound up being so crazy that the players then needed to be escorted via helicopter back to the national headquarters, where they did a fly-by of the Obelisco.
The Sporting News is covering the event and sharing highlights and the best moments as they happen further below (scroll down). First, here are three live streams by Argentine outlets Telefe, TNT Sports and La Nacion.
2:53 p.m. ET: People are finally beginning to disperse in downtown Buenos Aires as the celebration comes to a close. One of the most remarkable mass celebrations in modern history comes to a merciful end.
2:41 p.m. ET: While the scene is euphoric, many individuals have put themselves directly in harms way celebrating amidst the mayhem. There are many reports of dangerous situations, which is one of the reasons the parade has been cut short and the players were evacuated by helicopter.
It seems the individual jumping onto the bus with the players was the tipping point for the celebration, and the players were withdrawn shortly after.
Andres Cantor's son Nico, who creates football content for CBS Sports, stated on Twitter that he's seen many videos of the celebration that are not suitable for social media, which is an alarming report.
2:39 p.m. ET: As the players take to the skies, they are sharing images of themselves in the helicopter, preparing for the flyby of the Obelisco and final trip to the team headquarters.
2:22 p.m. ET: Here's a snapshot (courtesy of Paulo Dybala) of the view of the fans from inside the player bus. It was wild.
2:12 p.m. ET: Before they go back to headquarters the players are actually going to fly over the mass of fans around the area of the Obelisco. They couldn't get there by car, so they'll do it by air.
1:58 p.m. ET: Here's official confirmation from the president of the Argentina federation that security will not allow the players to keep going by bus to the Obelisco to salute the fans there.
1:55 p.m. ET: Papu Gomez making it rain on the bus route.
1:52 p.m. ET: There were a couple of fans who tried to jump onto the team bus from the overpass. One of them missed the target.
The players were warning the guy not to jump. Security was right on top of the guy who did land on the bus.
1:48 p.m. ET: Reports are that the players are soon to be picked up by helicopter and shuttled back to the Argentina federation headquarters. Three helicopters are going to be used for this operation.
1:30 p.m. ET: Rodrigo De Paul is getting carried away standing on top of the bus and you know who tells him to get down? Leo.