Hosts Mexico became the first team to qualify for the knockout stages with a 1-0 win over South Korea at the Estadio Guadalajara on Thursday.
Scotland beat Morocco 1-0 in Group C in Boston on Friday. What connects both Mexico and Scotland in this World Cup is that both teams have been supported in their World Cup campaigns. Merlin, a two-year-old duck, was seen supporting Mexico wearing the country’s jersey, while another duck, Don the Duck, is supporting Scotland, taking part in a fan park and parade in Providence, the capital of Rhode Island, where much of Scotland is based at the World Cup.
Marilyn went viral on social media when videos went viral of her ducks wearing a miniature Mexico jersey while marching through the streets of Mexico City. FIFA named the duck the country’s football ambassador while the Mexico team shared an image of it flying over the stadium in Guadalajara in a social media post ahead of the team’s match against South Korea.
Merlin’s is owned by Carla Yvette Gomez, a street vendor in Mexico City, who runs the cart with her son Cristian Gomez. After the opening match between Mexico and South Africa at the Estadio Azteca, a video of Marilyn in a Mexico jersey and chasing her owner Gomez went viral. Merlin was the center of attention in Mexico on Friday as TV crews and fans had the chance to pose with the duck at the World Cup Fan Festival in Mexico City. “We never thought it would go viral. We were walking down (a main street in Mexico City) and out of nowhere a girl would take a video and that’s when we went viral,” Carla Yvette Gomez said. AFP In an interview on Friday.
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Far away in Providence, Don the Duck, also known as Donnie, was with the Scottish fans, who had come to Boston to support their team in their Group C clash at the Boston Stadium. Ahead of Scotland’s match against Morocco on Friday, Donnie attended a fan parade in Providence in addition to taking part in a come-and-greet session with Scottish fans.
Ducks adorned with the colors of Scotland’s national jersey were the focus of the fan parade. In an interview with the Boston Globe, owner Justin Thames shared how he bought Donnie for seven dollars and then registered her as a ‘service duck’. Over the past two years, Donnie attended fan events supporting Providence College Friars men’s basketball games before she was barred by city officials from attending games at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. According to Thames, Donnie had a lawyer, a security guard as well as a manager and was sponsored by an ice cream company as well as motoring a giant Jeep as well as her own residence.
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Duck has more than 30,000 followers on Instagram. According to Thames, he is also writing a book titled ‘How Don Found Her Quack’. “I take her to schools, children’s hospitals, nursing homes and adult day care centers. I do 5K cancer races. The book is going to have two messages. The first message is going to be why it’s safe to recycle, and then the second message is going to be: No matter how old someone is, they can still learn something new,” Teislow said.
Earlier, Dhoni clicked pictures with Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee and Cranston Mayor Kenneth Hopkins. When the Ducks were banned from attending games at the Amica Mutual Pavilion, AMP and Rhode Island Convention Center General Manager Larry Lepore spoke about the reason behind the ban. “Some people think it’s cute, some people think we got a response from people that this animal is ferocious,” Lepore told Sports Team 10.
Thames shared on Friday how he’s for a good cause. “They said ducks aren’t allowed. I don’t mind. It was a blessing in disguise. This duck is not like those ducks. I raised her with everyone, so everyone thinks she’s her cousin. I put her on the ground, she doesn’t want to go away. I put her in a pond, and she always comes back. I mean, I know a good reason. I’m here to put smiles on faces, spread love and positivity.” Thames told the Boston Globe.
For Marilyn, the duck is part of the Gomez family. The duck wearing the number 12 jersey is the third duck in the family and was given to the family as a gift by a customer. “He’s part of the family,” said Christian Gomez, Gomez’s 14-year-old son AFP.
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Duck’s favorite foods are crickets and fish, and the occasional taco. “Merlin is our everything. Merlin eats fruits, vegetables, crickets, fish, and tacos every now and then,” says Carla. AFP.