Brazilian sign language instructor Hélio Fonseca de Araújo simply wanted to watch Brazil's opening World Cup opening match with his friend, Carlos. And thanks to a bit of ingenuity and a homemade field, the unimaginable has become reality.
Carlos, an enormous Brazilian soccer fan, was born deaf and began losing his eyesight at the age of 14 when he was diagnosed with Usher syndrome. Now 27, he can see shapes and figures, but not a television. And two years ago, he lost his ability to watch soccer games.
Enter his sign language instructor. In preparation for the 2014 World Cup, de Araújo went a step further than any Braille book could, Googled "Measurements of a Football Field" and built a miniature model of a pitch. He placed the replica between himself and Carlos and moved Carlos' hands over the board to mirror the ball's position in the game in real-time, de Araújo tells the New York Daily News.
And for Brazil's opening World Cup match versus Croatia, it worked. The heartwarming moment was uploaded to YouTube where it quickly went viral and has already garnered over a half million views.
Watch Carlos' excitement when Brazil scores a goal against Croatia at the four-minute mark and stay tuned for his speech at the end.
IN-DEPTH
- Brazilian teacher helps deaf, blind friend follow World Cup (NY Daily News)
- World Cup 2014 coverage From NBC Sports
- NBC News World Cup Storyline