MD-1 | Mark E. Johnson [ • ] Photojournalist

Guadalupe, Nuevo Leone, Mexico

FIFA has a language all its own, including MD and MD-1 – match day and math day minus one, when the teams will do a news conference and maybe a familiarization on the pitch. We were out at Estadio Monterrey for much of the day and I was able to head out with my photojournalism students to cover them covering Japan.

So many folks have said this must be a cool trip, getting to go to the World Cup. The truth is … I don’t get to watch the matches. I take in images during the match from the kids on the pitch or in the tribune (press box), sometimes thousands of them during a match, so I need fast connection feeds. I tested the tribune before the first match and it wasn’t going to work, so for the Monterrey matches I’m buried in the stadium in the media center.

I can hear what’s happening and there are feeds from the broadcasts, but that’s about it.

But seeing the joy of the kids working, that makes it worth it. And after yesterday’s 110 degree weather, the torrential rains and flooding made for an interesting ride home on roads not built for that much water.

Guadalupe, Nuevo Leone, Mexico

Monterrey, Nuevo Leone, Mexico