Posts Tagged: WorldCup

South Africa / Travel — No Comments
13
Aug 10

Cape Town Day 5: USA out in Stage 2

Saturday, June 26

Cape Town, RSA

When we got back from the Cape of Good Hope, we made our way back downtown.  We had good seats in The Dubliner like the previous USA win, but it didn’t have the same “vibe” so we decided to try our luck at finding a new locale and more American comrades.  We walked up and down Long Street, gathering a greater nucleus of American fans each trip until we were in a group of about 25 or so.  As a group we decided to head to the Purple Turtle (which we had previously heard was a bit shady).  We paid a small cover.  Inside we watched a great game with lots of Americans.  By the end of the night, the USA had lost a game and we were down a South African cell phone.   Come to find out a pickpocket had worked the whole crowd and scored a few wallets and phones that evening.

We were pretty dejected as we had to walk the length of Long Street to get to our car through super happy and singing South Africans (they were cheering for any African team at this point).  One favorite though came from a European fan (can’t recall which country though) who yelled at us: “What do you say now, USA?”  I just replied, “Next World Cup”, with a wry smile.  This immediately made them smile and say, “Yeah, us too.”

In conclusion, The Dubliner > Purple Turtle.

South Africa / Sports / Travel — 1 Comment
1
Aug 10

Cape Town Day 3: Netherlands v. Cameroon @ Green Point Stadium

Thursday, June 24

Cape Town, RSA

After driving back to the city center, we parked at Claire’s Dad’s firm on Long Street.  While we were waiting for everyone who had tickets to the game to gather, the two of us headed to an English Pub, 3 Lions, just around the corner for a few pints while we watched the first halves of the Slovakia-Italy and Paraguay-New Zealand games.  After we all met up on Long Street, we walked the Fan Mile to the stadium, stopping halfway there at Lazari at the Cape Quarter for dinner, care of Malcolm.  After a fun dinner with good people and conversation, we walked the whole Fan Mile (a lot of Dutch fans!).  We want to note here that the Fan Mile in Cape Town is much longer than one mile.

Once we were in the stadium we found that we had amazing seats!  We were right at the yellow corner flag, and two rows up from the railing.  Where we sat wasn’t as loud as the Soccer City stadium, but we were right at the corner where two goals were scored – and the subsequent celebrations were had.  Once again we were rooting for the African team, but most people in attendance were pretty stoked that Netherlands won 2-1.  We enjoyed seeing Eto’o and Robben play.  Josh spilled beer (a full bottle) on our camera bag due to an exciting PK in our corner – luckily Jeannette had the camera out on her lap at the time, so no harm done – but the great seats only served to heighten excitement.  Josh had also practiced his vuvuzela skills and was one of the better blowers in our section.

We all met back up for some wine to sit and recap the game together.  Jeannette had started to feel a bit sick for the last couple days and by the end of this long day, her cold had come on quite strong.  Luckily one of the people we had just met for dinner, and again postgame, was a nice doctor.  She offered some advice, and prescriptions if desired.  Jeannette decided to hold out for a bit longer (bad idea) but did snag a box of kleenex that was gone by the end of trip, along with a second full box.

By the time we made it home, we were feeling peckish and still pretty riled up and excited about the game so we stayed up and ate snacks with Claire and her parents, Carol and Richard, before hitting the hay.

South Africa / Travel — No Comments
25
Jul 10

Cape Town Day 2: The Dubliner for USA Win!

Wednesday, June 23

Cape Town, RSA

It was the final game of the first round so there were two games on at the same time, and many places were showing the England game instead of the USA game.  We found a place on Long Street, The Dubliner, that was showing England-Slovenia on the first floor and USA-Algeria on the second floor.  It was fun to have camaraderie with other American soccer fans.  Everyone stood and sang the American National Anthem together at the beginning of the game.  It was pretty exciting because we knew we needed to score and we could hear the cheer from below when England scored first.  There were lots of USA fans gathered there and it erupted when Donovan scored his late goal for the win!  While the camera was protected, we were covered in beer by the end.  It was great, fabulous fun!

South Africa / Sports / Travel — No Comments
15
Jul 10

Jo’Burg Day 2: Brazil v. Cote d’Ivoire @ Soccer City

Sunday, June 20

Johannesburg, RSA

Our thoughts on the game:  It was so fun! So loud!!! We had earplugs in an hour before kick off.  They had fun stadium food – mash and gravy!  Because they were a FIFA sponsor, there was only Bud in the stadium!  We were rooting for Africa teams so we were sad that Ivory Coast lost (3:1), but glad that we got to see the powerhouse Brazil play, as well as Drogba play! In the end we saw four goals, a red card and an end of game scuffle!

The walk to the stadium:

Inside:

Our view:

In USA gear! (Thanks Thadd!)

Now the stadium is full!

Warm ups:

National Anthems:

Brazil fans in front of us:

Let’s get this show on the road!

It got cold! 

Even though Africa lost, it was a fun and celebratory train ride back to the city center.

When we got back to Park Station, there were no cabs in the queue, so we called Thibiele and she came and picked us up and took us home after a great day!