World Cup (June 15-17)

June 15: This was the coldest day in South Africa since my arrival. It was windy and barely above freezing, which I was entirely unprepared for with my fleece, USA jacket and only a rain shell to warm me. We met Amy's friends,(Carlos, Sarah, Jeff & Sara) for a day at the Apartheid Museum before heading off to the Brazil v. N. Korea match at Ellis Park. The museum was fantastic, and unfortunately many of us didn't budget our time well, as I spent more time in the Nelson Mandela temporary exhibit than I should have, but what an incredible man, with more accomplishments than one person should have in a human lifetime!

After a snack and later a drink at the Gold Reef Casino, 4 of us headed for the park & ride buses on our way to Ellis Park to meet Jeff's friends to pick up our tickets. It was bitter cold, and unfortunately, these "friends" weren't too concerned with the fact that we waited at least an hour or more to collect the tickets. In the meantime, we hung out in Annie's Kitchen with some security staff, then snuck in the gate (for the second time in that stadium alone, we were not screened for weapons). While we waited in the freezing conditions, we witnessed several power outages in the stadium...wondering how the match will go on if only on aux power. TIA.

[Brazil v. North Korea, Ellis Park]

Concession lines were extreme, so we entered without any hot drinks, or beer. After settling in our 2nd to last row seats (thankfully slightly blocked from the icy, windy conditions), we enjoyed what we considered the best match of the WC to date. The North Koreans really stepped up and made Brazil work hard for the 3 points. Not the blow out you'd expect by the Samba Boys holding them to a 1 goal win!

June 16: We decided to take a day off from attending soccer matches, and rented a car to visit the Cradle of Human Kind (the source of many archaeological findings explaining human history and evolution). Yet another amazing museum, well done South Africa! This is a great museum for families too as there are many interactive displays for adults and children alike.

[Cradle of Humankind, Guateng Province]

After the museum, we headed to Melville to settle in for some food and catch the final moments of the late afternoon Spain v Switzerland match, and what an upset as the Swiss stunned Spain 1-0. We then headed over to a sports bar to watch the South Africa v Uruguay match, and what an excruciating disappointment with Uruguay stuffing Bafana Bafana by 3 goals.

June 17: On a last minute decision, we decided to head into Soccer City to attempt acquisition of Argentina-South Korea match tickets. Could we be as lucky as the Dutch-Danes game in getting $20 tickets? Well, upon arriving only 15 minutes before match time due to extreme traffic conditions, we had several options, and had we waited for the kickoff, I’m sure we could have gotten a better deal, as it was, we got Cat 1 tickets for half off, and ended up in the 6th row of section 122, which put us close enough to hear the sound of the ball being kicked. [photos forthcoming]. The energy in the stadium was, predictably, all for Argentina. This match rivalled Bra-DPR in its excitement, but sadly, the scoreline was not reflective of the hard fight the Koreans put up.



[Argentina v. South Korea; Tevez; Messi]

Back in Sandton (Nelson Mandela Square), we had a delicious pizza and some sort of cheese cigar, and watched as the Greeks steamrolled the Nigerians, an unfortunate exit for the Africans. Exhausted, we headed home and watched the oh-so-boring match that was France’s exiting bow to the Mexicans...the one time you’d catch me supporting Mexico, is when they play those cheating bastards! Bien hecho, El Tri!

[Nelson Mandela Square]

Stay tuned for updates on the good ole USA in Friday’s match! USA USA USA!