Hi!
Wow, sorry for the delay in posts! Basically, as my travel and live game attendance increased, my access to internet (and opportunity to sleep!) decreased significantly. It’s been an amazing few days, so hopefully I can sum it all up for you here.
On Friday afternoon, my sister and I went to see Portugal and Brazil play in Durban. Durban is an awesome city, with a vibrant Indian population, great food, wonderful beaches, and a beautiful stadium (if you’ve been watching on TV, it’s the one with the huge arch running above the playing field). Two other fun facts about Durban are that Ghandi worked there as a lawyer for many years, and that the little man in the walk signs at downtown intersections actually walks when it turns green (yes, I thought that was cool!).
The dramatic Durban Stadium
The game between Portugal and Brazil was relatively low-key on the field, given that both teams were already assured spots in the next round. However, the fans were amazing once again! The entire stadium was blanketed in green/red and yellow fans, all yelling in Portuguese (just like the US/England game, this one had some special significance!), waving the flags of their countries, and blowing their vuvuzelas. Cristiano Ronaldo is a wonderfully dynamic player, and the Brazilian players are highly skilled and created some great chances.
Brazilian fans unfurl a huge team jersey during their National Anthem!
Immediately following the game, our epic trip to Rustenburg began! It was time to cheer on the USA:) We traveled by mini-bus with some other US fans, and spent the day analyzing the team’s chances, buying facepaint and other accessories, and generally getting pumped.
As we walked into the Rustenburg stadium (did you know that 70% of the world’s platinum comes from Rustenburg?) it was amazing to see how many Americans and Ghanaians had traveled to cheer on their teams. People were decked out in the colors of the two countries, and when the teams came out for warm-ups they both made sure to acknowledge the fans with waves and applause.
Cheering for Team USA!
Thus far in this World Cup, I’ve always had a team to root for when we’ve watched games (I usually root for the underdog, just because I’d love to see a country win that has never done so before!). However, nothing compares to watching the USA team walk onto the field, hearing our national anthem, and cheering on players who grew up playing soccer on some of the same fields that I did. My sister and I were fully dressed in face paint, flags, and other red/white/blue clothing (I was wearing my SCORES shirt!), and we nearly lost our voices cheering.
Well, by now we’ve all seen the game, and it wasn’t the result any US fans were looking for. It was disappointing to see the US go out of the tournament, but I wouldn’t have traded the experience of being there for anything. If they were going to lose to any team, I would hope the US would lose to Ghana, who is the only remaining African team in the World Cup. At the end of the game, one of the Ghanaian players took a lap of the stadium holding a South African flag, which was super classy and an indication of how Ghana sees itself as representing the continent during the rest of the tournament. That’s the kind of sportsmanship that seems to happen all of the time here at the World Cup!
More to come on my last few days in SA soon!
Happy viewing…I can’t believe it’s already time for the quarterfinals!
Caitlin
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