Santiago Bartolome has been dreaming about traveling to see his beloved Argentina play in soccer’s World Cup since he was a little boy. But he never envisioned anything quite like this.
Thanks in large part to a chance meeting with Jameis Winston, Bartolome’s plan to simply drive across the country to share the World Cup experience with fellow Argentinians turned into the experience of a lifetime. He’s become a viral sensation for teaching Winston Argentinian soccer songs and for their passionate hugs following Lionel Messi goals.
And it all peaked when Winston and FOX gifted Bartolome tickets to the World Cup semifinal, where he watched Argentina’s remarkable comeback 2-1 win against England last Wednesday in Atlanta.
“Honestly, this trip has been such a blessing,” Bartolome told me. “It’s been a dream come true.”
“That has honestly been one of the greatest blessings of this entire experience,” Winston told me of his new friendship with Bartolome. “The games are incredible, but the people are what make the World Cup so special. Meeting someone like Santi reminds you that sports can break down every barrier. We may come from different countries and cultures, but joy, love and passion connect all of us.”
His dream, much like his plan, was actually smaller than this reality. Bartolome, a 28-year-old soccer coach who was born in La Pampa, Argentina, but grew up in Atlanta, only had tickets to Argentina’s opening game against Algeria in Kansas City. He planned to drive from his Los Angeles home to Kansas City for the game and then drive to wherever Argentina played throughout the tournament. He would stay with family when he could, or in campgrounds near the host cities, just so he could watch the games with other Argentina fans.
But that was before he got to the game in Kansas City and saw Winston sitting right behind him, wearing an Argentina jersey.
“I turned around, and I recognized him from TV,” Bartolome told me. “We connected right there. He knew some of the songs. I was really surprised. And he was all in with the culture and the environment. I just kind of explained to him what the songs were because they were in Spanish. He asked some questions about the players and the coach in Argentina. So we connected really well there. I loved it. And I thought that was going to be the end of it.
“Then the video came out on FOX Sports of us singing and celebrating the goals and Messi’s hat trick, and it just blew up.”
“It was really just one of those divine encounters,” Winston said of meeting Bartolome. “He came up to me with so much joy and passion for Argentina, and we connected immediately. He didn’t treat me like a football player or somebody on television. He treated me like family. Once I heard his story and felt his spirit, I knew I wanted to pour back into him the same way he had poured into me.”
As fun as his newfound fame from the viral video was, Bartolome — known as “Santi” — had no idea how much it blew up. He also didn’t know how much of an impact he had on Winston, the New York Giants backup quarterback who has been serving as a special FIFA World Cup correspondent for Fox Sports throughout the tournament.
But he found out when he was on his way to Argentina’s round-of-32 game against Cape Verde in Miami on July 3. Bartolome had already scored tickets, but on his way to the stadium he received a call from Joe Hernandez, Winston’s agent, asking if he’d be there.
“I really thought it was the end of it,” Bartolome told me. “But (Hernandez) tracked me down on social media and reached out to me and asked if I was going to the game. So we were able to meet, and I just surprised Jameis outside Miami Stadium.”
But the biggest surprise would come from Winston, two weeks later. Prices to the England-Argentina semifinal game in Atlanta had hit record highs, and Bartolome resigned to watching from somewhere nearby the stadium. At least until his phone rang a few hours before kickoff.
“I was perfectly OK with just driving to Atlanta with all the Argentinian fans, just being in the city. I was real happy with that,” he told me. “Then the morning of the game, (FOX Sports) surprised me with tickets. Jameis did the FaceTime with me, and I was just overcome with emotions. Even my family — I have a lot of family in Argentina, and they’ve been following this trip — everybody was so happy and just brought to tears.
“It was a dream come true for all of us.”
The whole experience has been like that for Bartolome, who ended up finding tickets to all but one group stage game throughout Argentina’s run. He even managed to fulfill a promise to his father, who flew up from Argentina to join him at the quarterfinal win over Switzerland in Kansas City — a game that only happened because Argentina scored three goals after the 79th minute of their round of 16 game to erase a 2-0 deficit and defeat Egypt to advance.
“I watched my first World Cup with my dad in 2006, and we always told ourselves we were going to go to a World Cup game someday,” Bartolome told me. “I was at the game in Atlanta where we were losing 2-0 to Egypt, and I was just in tears. They’re losing 2-0 in the 80th minute and the dream that we talked about since I was a little kid was over.
“Then they came back. I couldn’t believe it.”
That was just one of the many unbelievable things that happened on his miraculous journey over the last month. It’ll only be better for him if it ends with Argentina beating Spain to capture its second straight World Cup title at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Bartolome is already nearby, having driven up from Atlanta, and settled into a campground in New Jersey. But barring any last-minute surprises, he won’t be inside the stadium. He’ll instead be somewhere watching with a large and familiar traveling party of Argentinian fans — just like he planned from the start.
“To start off this trip in Los Angeles and to end up in New York City, I can’t believe it,” he told me. “Honestly, this trip has been such a blessing. I’m OK with whatever happens. I couldn’t be happier.”
Actually, there is one more thing that could add to his happiness. Bartolome is scheduled to marry his fiancée, Katie, on Feb. 27, in Argentina. And he’s hoping his new friend, Winston, will be there.
“The last thing Jameis and I talked about was that he was going to officiate my wedding,” Bartolome told me. “He just got his license, he was telling me. I asked him if he wanted to do it, and he said ‘Of course.’
“It’s in Argentina, but it would be incredible.”
Does Winston have a soft spot for Argentina through this experience?
“Oh, absolutely,” Winston told me. “Santi gave me a real introduction to Argentinian culture, the passion, the pride, the the love they have for their culture. When I see that blue and white, I think about Santi and the people who welcomed me like family. So yes, Argentina definitely has a special place in my heart now.”
