USA v. Ghana
(frankfurt - nürnberg)
GAME DAY!! Finally.
It was during the two hour trip from Frankfurt to Nürnberg when first got butterflies in my stomach. More accurately, it was when i noticed that seemingly every car on the highway to Nürnberg had the red, yellow and green Ghana flag hanging from a mirror, tied around the bumper or flying from a window - that i became nervous!
With the previous saturday's results (Ghana 2:0 Czech Rep. / USA 1:1 Italy) it meant that we stood a very reasonable chance of advancing to the second round of the World Cup. Today, all we needed to count on was for Italy to do the business against the Czech Rep., and for us to do likewise and beat Ghana. Before coming to Germany, I feared that the game we would be attending might turn out to be a meaningless one. But with hopes still alive, and so many factors at play - i was NOT prepared for this level of NERVES!!
We made it to Nürnberg, checked into the hotel, and made our way to the subway station. U-bahn to Hauptbahnhof, S-bahn to Stadion, simple enough. The 8 minute trainride to the main trainstation was quite quiet. But when we got off to switch trains, you would've thought we had reach the stadium already!! HUNDREDS of fans decked out in their colors, packed the concourse of the trainstation, chanting, beating drums and getting pumped up for the match! To my releif, the chants were familiar ones, and the vast majority of the fans were wearing the same colors I (and Babsi!) was!
After standing on the S-bahn platform chatting with new friends, we were absolutely STUFFED into the train like sardines! It was hard to stand up, but impossible to fall down! It's a good thing all public transport in the city was free that day, because the train ticket-taker probably would have quit his job on the spot.
Reaching the final train stop, we all breathed a collective sigh of releif - because we were, well, breathing again! The fan fare outside the stadium was terrific, and just what I imagined it would be before coming. I think i reached excitement overload while walking up to the stadium, as the fan noise got louder and louder.
Inside the 41,000 person Franken-Stadion was unbelievable! Despite being the 'enemy', i was really excited about sharing the stadium with plentz of African fans, who all know how to have a good time! However, while the Ghana fans turned up in good numbers, the overwhelming majority were for USA!
As the game got going (i'll spare you the play-by-play), both sets of fans really got into it. I'm happy to say, the US fans were in really good voice, and we were singing along with all the rest!
For me, the two most special moments were hearing my national anthem amid a sea of red white and blue flags, AND when we scored the equaliser goal! I cant recall a single other moment in my life where i went this nuts. I swear, it was all a blur; i remember being on top of my seat, and then on top of babsi, and then on top of the seat of the guy behind me... it took me 15 minutes to catch my breath, and i was almost completely voiceless until later in the afternoon.
If I'm allowed just two seconds to rant, the game ended 2-1 Ghana thanks to a COMPLETELY horrendous penalty call, meaning they and Italy would go on to the 'round of 16'. At the final whistle, I stood and applauded my team, and was incredibly proud of their efforts, and for having gotten to be a part of it! All 41,000 fans were having much too good a time to sweat the result, and as the stadium emptied out, many people made their way over to the nearby Fan-Fest.
ironic side story!:
Of all the Americans who would be traveling to Germany to support the US team, i heard from Kaiser (one of my old club teammates) just weeks before leaving, that my soccer coach of 8 years had tickets to the same game I would be attending. I arrived in Germany without his contact info, and no plausible way to find it.
At the stadium, just before the game, I hustled downstairs to the bathroom so I could be back at my seat before the nat'l anthem began. Standing in line to use the sink, I heard my name in a familiar voice, which unmistakeably belonged to my buddy Kaiser, whom last I heard, had not planned to be in Germany at all!
After we hugged eachother about 7 times (in the men's bathroom, mind you...) he told me that he had gotten the use of someone else's ticket, and was sitting with our coach, Kevin, and his wife Mickey, and brother (and our asst. coach) Miles!
We all met up after the game, and walked over to the fan fest for some beers and good food.
After absorbing as much atmosphere as we could, Babsi and I hopped the train back across the city, and saught shelter. Too tired to even finish watching the Brasil-Japan game at 9 o'clock, I passed out in my clothes with my flag still proudly around my neck, scarf tied around my wrist, and ticket in my hand.
I tip my hat to the US squad for holding their own in arguably the most difficult group in the tournament. Even though they played with heart, their dreams of glory in Germany have come to an end.
Mine, however, have only begun!
GAME DAY!! Finally.
It was during the two hour trip from Frankfurt to Nürnberg when first got butterflies in my stomach. More accurately, it was when i noticed that seemingly every car on the highway to Nürnberg had the red, yellow and green Ghana flag hanging from a mirror, tied around the bumper or flying from a window - that i became nervous!
With the previous saturday's results (Ghana 2:0 Czech Rep. / USA 1:1 Italy) it meant that we stood a very reasonable chance of advancing to the second round of the World Cup. Today, all we needed to count on was for Italy to do the business against the Czech Rep., and for us to do likewise and beat Ghana. Before coming to Germany, I feared that the game we would be attending might turn out to be a meaningless one. But with hopes still alive, and so many factors at play - i was NOT prepared for this level of NERVES!!
We made it to Nürnberg, checked into the hotel, and made our way to the subway station. U-bahn to Hauptbahnhof, S-bahn to Stadion, simple enough. The 8 minute trainride to the main trainstation was quite quiet. But when we got off to switch trains, you would've thought we had reach the stadium already!! HUNDREDS of fans decked out in their colors, packed the concourse of the trainstation, chanting, beating drums and getting pumped up for the match! To my releif, the chants were familiar ones, and the vast majority of the fans were wearing the same colors I (and Babsi!) was!
After standing on the S-bahn platform chatting with new friends, we were absolutely STUFFED into the train like sardines! It was hard to stand up, but impossible to fall down! It's a good thing all public transport in the city was free that day, because the train ticket-taker probably would have quit his job on the spot.
Reaching the final train stop, we all breathed a collective sigh of releif - because we were, well, breathing again! The fan fare outside the stadium was terrific, and just what I imagined it would be before coming. I think i reached excitement overload while walking up to the stadium, as the fan noise got louder and louder.
Inside the 41,000 person Franken-Stadion was unbelievable! Despite being the 'enemy', i was really excited about sharing the stadium with plentz of African fans, who all know how to have a good time! However, while the Ghana fans turned up in good numbers, the overwhelming majority were for USA!
As the game got going (i'll spare you the play-by-play), both sets of fans really got into it. I'm happy to say, the US fans were in really good voice, and we were singing along with all the rest!
For me, the two most special moments were hearing my national anthem amid a sea of red white and blue flags, AND when we scored the equaliser goal! I cant recall a single other moment in my life where i went this nuts. I swear, it was all a blur; i remember being on top of my seat, and then on top of babsi, and then on top of the seat of the guy behind me... it took me 15 minutes to catch my breath, and i was almost completely voiceless until later in the afternoon.
If I'm allowed just two seconds to rant, the game ended 2-1 Ghana thanks to a COMPLETELY horrendous penalty call, meaning they and Italy would go on to the 'round of 16'. At the final whistle, I stood and applauded my team, and was incredibly proud of their efforts, and for having gotten to be a part of it! All 41,000 fans were having much too good a time to sweat the result, and as the stadium emptied out, many people made their way over to the nearby Fan-Fest.
ironic side story!:
Of all the Americans who would be traveling to Germany to support the US team, i heard from Kaiser (one of my old club teammates) just weeks before leaving, that my soccer coach of 8 years had tickets to the same game I would be attending. I arrived in Germany without his contact info, and no plausible way to find it.
At the stadium, just before the game, I hustled downstairs to the bathroom so I could be back at my seat before the nat'l anthem began. Standing in line to use the sink, I heard my name in a familiar voice, which unmistakeably belonged to my buddy Kaiser, whom last I heard, had not planned to be in Germany at all!
After we hugged eachother about 7 times (in the men's bathroom, mind you...) he told me that he had gotten the use of someone else's ticket, and was sitting with our coach, Kevin, and his wife Mickey, and brother (and our asst. coach) Miles!
We all met up after the game, and walked over to the fan fest for some beers and good food.
After absorbing as much atmosphere as we could, Babsi and I hopped the train back across the city, and saught shelter. Too tired to even finish watching the Brasil-Japan game at 9 o'clock, I passed out in my clothes with my flag still proudly around my neck, scarf tied around my wrist, and ticket in my hand.
I tip my hat to the US squad for holding their own in arguably the most difficult group in the tournament. Even though they played with heart, their dreams of glory in Germany have come to an end.
Mine, however, have only begun!
Brennilein - 22. Jun, 00:04
