My Last World Cup Match

I went to my last World Cup match last night, Spain-Germany semifinal. It was one of the more fun matches I've been to, even if the team I was cheering for lost. It was the only match I've been to alone (I bought the ticket last-minute from a friend of a friend), so I was forced to be social. I decided to root for Germany because they had been playing so well throughout the tournament, and I wasn't all that impressed with Spain. Either way though, Netherlands is my team of choice to win it all, so I was really just there to have a good time and watch an epic match of soccer. Since it was my last match, I decided to splurge and get my face painted and buy a knock-off (sorry, Mom) Germany scarf. While in line to get into the stadium, I heard some American accents behind me so, of course, introduced myself. I met two young professionals from the City and we talked for about fifteen minutes but eventually parted ways - we were seated at opposite sides of the stadium. I was seated right behind a corner, so was much closer to the field than ever before, just not centered. It was a pretty great view; I could see all the corner kicks extremely clearly, and I saw Spain's goal perfectly. The section was taken up entirely by Germany fans (mostly German), so I was definitely wearing the right apparel. I got a hang for most of the German soccer chants by the end of the match.

It was a shame that Germany lost, but Spain did play extremely well: a well-deserved win. Something exciting did happen thanks to their loss, though: I was on the jumbo screen! In the last minutes of the match, they showed shots of sad looking Germany fans and, putting on the saddest face I could, I was put on the stadium's screen for a few seconds. I left the stadium immediately after the match ended, so I was able to avoid the crowds and traffic. I was home within ten minutes of the final whistle. I'm not exactly sure what my plans are for the final yet, I'm hoping to get some people from the office together to go watch somewhere, or maybe I'll convince Jessie (who isn't nearly as excited about the World Cup as I am) to come to the Fan Park with me. Life, and South Africa, will be extremely different starting on Monday. The fan parks all over the country will be taken down, most of the tourists will leave (those who haven't already, sad and demoralized by their respective teams' losses) and the general World Cup vibe will be missing. School, on the other hand, will start up again (South Africa made the controversial choice to let out all schools for six weeks for the World Cup). Overall, the World Cup has been a wonderful time. Watching these amazing players up close and live is an unparalleled experience, but the most thrilling part of it all has been the environment itself (in stadiums and in the country as a whole). Showing support for a country has been a way to meet people, exchange smiles and even occasionally not-too-serious insults. And there's nothing quite like being in a stadium, surrounded and overwhelmed by the sound of tens of thousands of vuvuzelas.

Jessie and I are wishing for good weather this weekend; we'd like to go to the beach. I'm not exactly sure what I'll do (or write about) once the World Cup is over (and UEFA Champions doesn't get interesting until September), so I've been trying to come up with fun and exciting activities and trips. So far, I've have a trip to Zanzibar in the works, thoughts of bungee jumping, scuba diving lessons and a one-day safari visit to Hluhluwe Game Reserve.