So contrary to popular belief, I will be starting work on Monday. I’m here for the World Cup, but much more than just the matches.
However, this post will be about the epic match Saturday night in Rustenburg…great game, fun night, ridiculously crazy ending…for the first time I met a legitimately crazy person, but more on that later.
Woke up quite a bit later than I probably should have (12:15 felt like 8am…hello jet lag) but still made it to the buses on time. Didn’t mingle before hand, met the front of the march towards the buses. It was awesome, unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to take a picture, but it was quite a sight, Caroline–my first nice host mom–can attest to the huge crowd of singing Americans who enveloped her car and delayed her while she was trying to leave the drop off point. The cop wouldn’t let her go through until the 350 of us had passed. If you click on the link, I have an album of all the photos I took on the way to the match and while at the game.
Outside of a few mile stretch right before the last toll gate on the Platinum Highway the traffic was not hellacious. Those last few miles on the way to the toll gate were literally bumper to bumper for a few km’s. It’s called the Platinum Highway because Rustenburg produces 80% of the world’s platinum–all owned by the Royal Bafokeng Nation. The Bafokeng tribe also own the stadium, a nice and open bowl, so the vuvuzelas were there, but escaped to the sky as well.
The atmosphere heading into the match was electric!!! I tagged along with a couple of younger couples who were on the bus with me. One of the pairs were on Honeymoon (greatest honeymoon ever) and the other couple was from San Antonio. Really nice, had a fun time hanging out around the stadium waiting for the match to begin. You can see all the photos here.
Anyway, it was a great game. USA definitely had the chances to win. Goal was lucky but Jozy’s effort in the second half was just as unlucky as the goal was lucky, so well deserved draw. We were not run off the field, in fact we held a good deal of possession in the first half and looked the more dangerous other than England’s wonderfully worked goal. Poor defense by Jay and Ricardo, but still it hit so quick, I was just deleting a photo from my camera during their throw in and the next thing i know, i look up and the balls drilled into the back of our net.
Thoughts and prayer’s with Timmy. That was a challenge deserving of a yellow card, coming in studs up like that on the keeper, total bull that Hesky escaped without a card.
Pleased with the result, had some good work out of the team, solid team defending, great goalkeeping, some good possession in the first half. I would love to see Jose Francisco Torres instead of Ricardo in the next game, we need more possession and attacking vigor that Torres supplies in Central Midfield.
All in all happy. But now comes the crazy part….to come on the next post
