Unfortunately, this blog title doesn’t refer to me…I decided not to travel in my orange wig, Holland jersey, and white linen trousers, with a Netherlands flag tied around my neck. HOWEVER, it is how most of the people in my section were dressed on my flight from Amsterdam to Johannesburg. One even had a bullhorn that alternated between playing the Dutch national anthem and broadcasting his (loud) voice to lead team cheers. It was awesome!
But before we get into the great fans I’ve met so far, let’s start at the beginning.
Before jetting out, I caught the first half of the US-England game at South Street Seaport in NYC. It was packed with supporters of both teams, and a great place to watch!
Then, bags in tow, I set off to Amsterdam, where I was lucky enough to meet up with a huge group of Dutch fans headed down to see their beloved team play Denmark the next day. I’ll have pictures in a few days of their amazing outfits, but for now, think lots and lots of orange. Everywhere. The Dutch love their footballers, and they definitely got me in the World Cup spirit.
After a quick night in Johannesburg, I was off to Bloemfontein, where I was to see Cameroon take on Japan. And the Japanese fans were not going to be outdone by the Dutch! They too were sporting wigs, flags, hats, facepaint, and the like.
Bloemfontein–known as the City of Roses–is the capital of the Free State in South Africa and its soccer stadium holds approximately 45,000 people. Before the game, the Japanese and Cameroonian fans celebrated outside. My favorite sight was watching groups of fans from the 2 countries come together to take photos and wish each other luck. Just one example of how soccer really is bringing the world together!
I got to attend the game with my sister and some of the young people from her program, Grassroot Soccer. They do HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention here in South Africa (and beyond) using soccer, and it was great to see her and get to meet some of her co-workers and kids. They were SO excited to see the match!
Our seats were right behind the goal, which was amazing! Seriously, we couldn’t have asked for a better spot. It was a hard fought game, and the stadium was full of vuvuzelas (the famous South African plastic horn), dances, and flags. Both teams looked sharp (the Cameroonian right back was my player of the match for his ability to play defense and join in the attack), but Japan struck first and scored the game’s only goal. We really thought Cameroon was going to get one at the end, but no such luck.
As we walked through the parking lot to get to our bus, the Grassroot Soccer kids got a chance to meet and get their picture taken with some Japanese fans, and–just like that–we had an instant cultural exchange. For me, that’s what makes the World Cup more than just a sporting event: it’s a time when everyone gets to come together and share their love of the sport with new people. It was a sight to remember!
Today, we’re hanging out in my sister’s house in the Northern Cape Province, and it is cold. Like snow-on-the-ground, snowman-outside-the-supermarket cold. So quite a change from summery New York!
I’ll be checking in after our next game, which is Greece-Nigeria on Thursday. Until then, don’t forget to check out all of the awesome SCORES events going on around the country, and check out our Best Buy @15 campaign as well!
Happy Viewing,
Caitlin
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