U.S.A. 1 - Algeria 0

Facepaint

In the previous two U.S. games, I have felt ashamed that I wasn’t more of a colorful fan like so many around me. If it wasn’t for my stocking cap that had USA and the flag on it, you wouldn’t even know who I was rooting for by my appearance. I refused to remedy the situation by buying a $120 USA jacket, but I told Fr. Mitchel that I really wanted to have some face paint. For today’s game, we went to the stadium with Daniel and Sydney, members of our host family, and Sydney brought face paint. Oh man. I painted a blue star on her cheek. She painted “USA” on my cheeks in blue and red. I felt like a fan…until I forgot I had it on and smeared one cheek…before we even got to our seats. By the end of the game, both cheeks were smeared (and yet I am about to go to bed and I still can’t get one of the “U”s off of my face.)

Upon reflection about my fan markings, I realized something interesting: U.S.A. – United Kingdom, Slovenia, Algeria. Coincidental? No way. Providential? You better believe it.

Fans

The U.S. fans at the games have been great, but our numbers seem low. All three of our games have had crowds of only around 40,000, and there have been many open seats, which is the fault of FIFA and corporations who have big blocks of seats but don’t care if they are left unfilled. This is disappointing. Every seat should be filled, so that as many people as possible can have the unforgettable experience of a World Cup match.

Because of the way the tickets were allotted, Fr. Mitchel and I sat next to the same couple from Washington D.C. all three U.S. games. The wife had a camera and took lots of photos. She told me today that she has taken 300 photos at each game and 500 photos on their safari days. Her blog has her photos: www.antelope-productions.com/south-africa/ (she’s even further behind than I am, but she takes good photos and gives you an idea of the landscape here.) Anyway, Fr. Mitchel and I have gotten to see lots of animals on this trip, but she said that on their safari yesterday they cougars and their cubs super close. They must have paid more for their safari than us. Pretty awesome.

The fans to my right today were from Ft. Lauderdale. The man has been to 5 World Cups. His fiancé has been to 2. (I’ve been to 1, but you better believe I want to make it to Brazil in 2014.) Both of them were great. I was impressed at how calmly he reacted when, at the same time, he spilled all four beers he had bought for himself.

The Game

You saw it, so you don’t need my recap, but just know that the emotions of a game are exacerbated when you have thousands of compatriots with you. We sighed together at every missed opportunity. We went crazy together at another bad call that denied us a goal. And we celebrated like mad men when Landon Donovan scored one of the biggest goals of his life to put us in the next round. We were three minutes from joining the team on a trip back to the States, but the boys pulled off the necessary win by the skin of their teeth. Ninety minutes of scoreless soccer were worth it to see one goal. The elation we all felt is hard to describe. Again, I didn’t think twice about hugging a relative stranger. I must have screamed “Oh my gosh” at least 15 times. It was great.

If you already think that soccer is crazy, here’s more ammunition for you: the U.S. is first in our group of four, moving on to play Ghana on Saturday, and yet, in the three games that we played, we were winning for a total of 2 minutes. I love it. For the past week, I have talked more about points and ties and goal differentials than I have in my entire life. Fr. Mitchel and I hash out every possibility and scenario for each group on a daily basis. It’s awesome for a math lover like me.

Saying Goodbye

Alright, tomorrow night we leave this wonderful country. I hope to spend some time tomorrow filling you in on all the other stuff we’ve been doing. Our schedule has been crazy full, but let’s be honest, I don’t get to South Africa on a regular basis, so we had to keep moving.

Remember, you can see photos at: World Cup Photos.

Enough for now. You need to get back to being a productive member of society (to make up for me.)

God Bless,

Fr. Scott