As previously mentioned in an earlier post, there are a LOT of American fans here in Natal. We definitely made ourselves known in the stadium. We were very loud the entire time (though, disappointingly, we had no drummer to counter the loud, rhythmic Ghanian drummers). The Americana outfits were amazing. We will try to get more pics of some of them next game: Elvis, Abe Lincoln, red/white/blue unitards, super hero outfits, Marilyn Monroe, tri-cornered hats, Uncle Sam, an eagle, etc. Absolutely phenomenal. We were asked for lots of photos of us with various other people, so they must have liked our Americana too. The cutest pic we were asked to pose for was with a couple of older Brazilian ladies who were on their way home near the stadium, and a friendly police officer took our pic (there is a lot of police and military presence here in Brazil, but since everything is pretty calm, most of them stand around looking bored the whole time).
The game itself started off on a fantastic note when Clint Dempsey scored 30 seconds into the match. The entire stadium erupted in joy (except the Ghanian section, of course). For most of the rest of the match we seemed pretty content to focus on defending against Ghana's attack instead of forming an attack ourselves. American fans yelled, cheered, and chanted through the whole match - not just the fan club section but throughout nearly the entire stadium. Finally, Ghana broke through with an equalizer late in the second half. The Ghanian fans then exploded, making their presence felt too. Fear not though, America: a nice set piece and the first international goal ever for young John Brooks, and the stadium once again swung happily, loudly, and finally to the USA. Our game-long chants of "I believe we will win this game" indeed came true. What an ending, what joy, what excitement. Wow. I love the World Cup. Nothing else is quite like it.
The only downsides to the match were our injuries (Jozy's and Besler's hamstrings and Dempsey's broken nose), as well as transportation to/from the stadium. Natal is not prepared to deal with getting 40,000 fans to and from the match. Buses were a joke (crowded and/or non existent), and most folks relied on taxis (which of course were nearly impossible to catch after the match, and traffic was awful both to/from the match). A lot of fans ended up walking 5 miles back to the Ponta Negra hotel area instead. We finally caught a cab about an hour after the match. I'm sure taxi drivers were thrilled with the extra business, but there were definitely a lot of frustrated fans trying to get home.
Next up: USA vs Portugal in Manaus (in the rainforest). With a win or a tie, the US gets out of its pool. Portugal is playing down several players (red card and injuries), and played poorly against Germany. Suddenly this Group of Death isn't looking as ominous as it once did.
One Nation. One Team.
Last night's game was incredible - the energy there must have been incredible. Dean was convinced he could see you on TV whenever the cameras panned the audience. Your USA outfit was, um, interesting! How bad is the humidity? - Shannon
ReplyDeleteEve was very confused when I told her you were at the game but she couldn't see you. So please try to get on camera next time! Go USA! Love the update.
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