Our final game will be a mouth-watering match up between Spain and Portugal here in Cape Town. We have great seats to the right and behind the substitute benches on the second tier.
We are looking forward to seeing Spain play that we predict will go all the way. They are getting better and better and this should be an open, attacking game. So far the round of 16 has featured exciting games with lots of goals so we are optimistic that we will see a good game.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
AfriCAN
South Africa is proving all the naysayers wrong. So far, the tournament has been a tremendous success. Prior to the World Cup, people were predicting that the games would not start on time, that there would be chaos at the stadiums, and that the visitors would be robbed left and right.
On the contrary, we have had nothing but positive experiences so far. The venues have been very well organized and things have flowed well. Everything is well marked and user friendly. Our only complaint so far has been the strange ticket policy which is not something South Africa organized but a process that FIFA oversees.
The locals here are really embracing the tournament and have been very friendly towards the visitors. We have sensed that there is somewhat of a racial divide. There are some (not all) white South Africans who are ambivalent about the tournament and see this as a celebration of the new South Africa that they do not care for. Overwhelmingly, however, the nation is behind this and if anything this will have a more unifying effect.
This World Cup is proving to be a great advertisement for South Africa in particular and for Africa in general. As one T shirt here states: World Cup 2010 - AfriCAN.
Africa CAN get things done if given the opportunity.
On the contrary, we have had nothing but positive experiences so far. The venues have been very well organized and things have flowed well. Everything is well marked and user friendly. Our only complaint so far has been the strange ticket policy which is not something South Africa organized but a process that FIFA oversees.
The locals here are really embracing the tournament and have been very friendly towards the visitors. We have sensed that there is somewhat of a racial divide. There are some (not all) white South Africans who are ambivalent about the tournament and see this as a celebration of the new South Africa that they do not care for. Overwhelmingly, however, the nation is behind this and if anything this will have a more unifying effect.
This World Cup is proving to be a great advertisement for South Africa in particular and for Africa in general. As one T shirt here states: World Cup 2010 - AfriCAN.
Africa CAN get things done if given the opportunity.
Uruguay-South Korea and USA-Ghana
The game we attended in Port Elizabeth was Uruguay vs. South Korea. We were not particularly optimistic before the game that this would be a good match up but the game in fact was a great one. Uruguay has a great attacking tandem in Forlan and Suarez. After their early goal, the Korean attacked ferociously and were unlucky not to score more goals.
We were very surprised to see that the stadium was only about 80% full. We spoke to some locals and they said that it was almost impossible for them to get tickets to the games in Port Elizabeth. Nearly all the hospitality suites and VIP lounges were empty. I would estimate that there were about 5000 South Koreans at the game and perhaps 4000 Uruguayans. The South Koreans all wore red and draped the biggest flag I have ever seen during their national anthem. The atmosphere during the game was fairly good especially since it was such an exciting game.
We then watched the USA Ghana game on tv at a cafe at the Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth. The result was disappointing for the US since they played well and were organized as a team. They lost their concentration twice that lead to the Ghanaian goals. All the locals here supported Ghana so I think Ghana definitely had a home field advantage. Afterwards, the media was salivating over the Ghana team and they are now the great African hope (being the only African team to advance). Ghana´s success is no coincidence since they have had tremendous success recently in youth tournaments. So their success now is a result of an impressive soccer development program. The papers here are also pointing out that Ghana was the first African nation to acheive independence so perhaps it is fitting that it takes the lead soccer wise as well.
We were very surprised to see that the stadium was only about 80% full. We spoke to some locals and they said that it was almost impossible for them to get tickets to the games in Port Elizabeth. Nearly all the hospitality suites and VIP lounges were empty. I would estimate that there were about 5000 South Koreans at the game and perhaps 4000 Uruguayans. The South Koreans all wore red and draped the biggest flag I have ever seen during their national anthem. The atmosphere during the game was fairly good especially since it was such an exciting game.
We then watched the USA Ghana game on tv at a cafe at the Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth. The result was disappointing for the US since they played well and were organized as a team. They lost their concentration twice that lead to the Ghanaian goals. All the locals here supported Ghana so I think Ghana definitely had a home field advantage. Afterwards, the media was salivating over the Ghana team and they are now the great African hope (being the only African team to advance). Ghana´s success is no coincidence since they have had tremendous success recently in youth tournaments. So their success now is a result of an impressive soccer development program. The papers here are also pointing out that Ghana was the first African nation to acheive independence so perhaps it is fitting that it takes the lead soccer wise as well.
Garden Route and Port Elizabeth
Sorry for the lack of updates but we have not had internet access for a few days. Early Friday morning we left for Port Elizabeth which is about a 10 hour drive from Cape Town. But what a drive it is! The scenery in parts of it were breathtaking! The scenery was a combination of southern Iceland, Route 1 in California, and the French Alps. It was majestic, raw, powerful and beautiful. We passed through places called Wilderness, Plettenberg Bay, and stopped in a beautiful town called Knysna (where the French and Danish team stayed during the tournament). We saw the world largest bungy jumping site (I thought about trying it for a moment) and stopped at an elephant park and got to feed the elephants. We also stopped in a small animal park near Port Elizabeth and as a good parent I did allow Benni to go into a cage with lion cubs and he petted them and scratch behind their ears. I wasn´t scared at all... Pictures will follow! On the way, we watched the Brazil Portugal game in a nice little town called Jeffrey Bay where they claim they have one of the best surfing spots in the world.
The city of Port Elizabeth lacks charm. It is a big industrial city and really nothing special. We stayed in a B and B in a suburb called Summerstrand. They have a disneyesque boardwalk that was overtly commercial. The stadium in Port Elizabeth was ok but nothing compared to the stadium in Cape Town. It is situated in a run down neighborhood and the atmosphere surrounding the game was not as festive as in Cape Town. It seemed second rate. However Cape Town is such a spectacular and fun city than anything compared to Cape Town will pale in comparison. I guess we have become spoiled by staying in Cape Town.
The city of Port Elizabeth lacks charm. It is a big industrial city and really nothing special. We stayed in a B and B in a suburb called Summerstrand. They have a disneyesque boardwalk that was overtly commercial. The stadium in Port Elizabeth was ok but nothing compared to the stadium in Cape Town. It is situated in a run down neighborhood and the atmosphere surrounding the game was not as festive as in Cape Town. It seemed second rate. However Cape Town is such a spectacular and fun city than anything compared to Cape Town will pale in comparison. I guess we have become spoiled by staying in Cape Town.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Hup, Hup Holland!
The Holland-Cameroon game that we attended tonight was amazing. The stadium was floating in orange as the Dutch supporters were there in droves (there were only a handful of Cameroon fans). The atmosphere was great with lots of singing and vuvuzuelas blowing. It was by far the loudest game that we have attended and much more energy than in the other games. The Dutch fans were very colorful often in very amusing outfits. The game was pretty good with the Dutch dominating from the first minute. They played crisp and clean soccer. Van Bommel plays an unsung role in the middle and Sjneider roamed freely around the midfield and upfront. With about 15 minutes left, Arjen Robben entered the game. It was clear that he is the leader of the team. Before coming on, he got lots of cheers from the fans as he was warming up (he has been out with a hamstring injury). His teamates on the bench cheered wildly when he entered the game. Once he was on the field, he was active and had a great shot into the post which eventually resulted into a goal. It is amazing that the Dutch had such an easy time in their groups with Robben only playing fifteen minutes.
The big news of the evening was that the world champions Italy were ousted from the tournament. They had a worse record than New Zealand in this year´s World Cup which is pretty amazing. The Danes also go home.
Tomorrow, we leave for Port Elizabeth Bay and we´ll stay there the next two nights. It is a 8 hour drive along the garden route which is supposedly a very beautiful drive. We hope to stop somewhere on the way to see Brazil Portugal play on tv. On Saturday, we´ll see Uruguay play South Korea. Our seats are behind the goal about 14 rows up.
The big news of the evening was that the world champions Italy were ousted from the tournament. They had a worse record than New Zealand in this year´s World Cup which is pretty amazing. The Danes also go home.
Tomorrow, we leave for Port Elizabeth Bay and we´ll stay there the next two nights. It is a 8 hour drive along the garden route which is supposedly a very beautiful drive. We hope to stop somewhere on the way to see Brazil Portugal play on tv. On Saturday, we´ll see Uruguay play South Korea. Our seats are behind the goal about 14 rows up.
Zulu princess and car museum
While in the Paarl Valley, we had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Cynthia Zulu-Kabanyane, who is a Zulu princess who runs an ngo that helps promote Zulu culture and the empowerment of Zulu women. We bought a beaded vuvuzuela from her foundation. We also stopped by and visited the Franzhoek Car Museum which has a small but very impressive collection of vintage cars including Model T Ford, Bugattis, Mercedes Benz, Ferraris and MacLarens. Well worth visiting.
Pregnancy and Adoptions
We went to the Paarl Valley yesterday which is South Africa´s wine country. We visited an Icelandic couple (Kolbeinn Kristinsson and Ruth Gylfadottir) that lives there and spent the day and night with them. Ruth has stared a very impressive non-profit that works with women who give up their babies for adoption called Enza (enza.is). We visited Mbekweni township where she is building a shelter for these women. Construction is under way and the plan is to be able to house 4-5 women at this shelter. There is a lot of unwanted pregnancies here and many women have to give up their children for adoption. Enza will work with the women after they have given birth and are recovering from giving their child away. They will provide support and some job skills training for these women. This is a very novel and worthwhile project and I hope to support it in one way or another in the future.
We then watched the USA and England games at their home switching back and forth. The US team has shown a lot of resiliency in the tournament. They came from behind to tie both England and Slovenia. They did not allow that disallowed goal to have an effect on them going into the Algerian game. The Algerian team was a tough team that played tight so this was a great victory for the US.
In the evening we watched Germany vs. Ghana at the Seitelberg winery in the Paarl Valley. The owner and many of the workers are from Germany and there was a German world cup buffet featuring bratwurst and potato salad. The Germans were lucky to qualify into the round of 16. The match up vs. England should be a great game and so will the game between Ghana and the US. I think the US have a wonderful opportunity to make it into the quarterfinal.
Tonight we´re going to Holland Cameroon. We are seeing Oranje everwhere!
We then watched the USA and England games at their home switching back and forth. The US team has shown a lot of resiliency in the tournament. They came from behind to tie both England and Slovenia. They did not allow that disallowed goal to have an effect on them going into the Algerian game. The Algerian team was a tough team that played tight so this was a great victory for the US.
In the evening we watched Germany vs. Ghana at the Seitelberg winery in the Paarl Valley. The owner and many of the workers are from Germany and there was a German world cup buffet featuring bratwurst and potato salad. The Germans were lucky to qualify into the round of 16. The match up vs. England should be a great game and so will the game between Ghana and the US. I think the US have a wonderful opportunity to make it into the quarterfinal.
Tonight we´re going to Holland Cameroon. We are seeing Oranje everwhere!
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