The World Cup | Part II (Bonus Match)

Yesterday morning, I was waiting for Doug to finish getting ready for work so that I could drive him (as I do) and then start my day. I checked my e-mail while I was waiting and saw that my friend Michelle was planning to play hooky from work and to go to Pretoria to watch the USA vs. Algeria game. So, at 7:13am I texted her to see if I could come, too. Fortunately for me, I only work part-time and wasn't scheduled to work Wednesday of this week. Perfect! Since Michelle had extra space in her car I went along with the intention of simply scapling a ticket once we were at the game. Our party also included Maya (US/Clinton Foundation) and Bryan (US/farm owner).

Michelle and Maya actually had a meeting planned that day as they are preparing to present at an AIDS conference in Vienna in July, so I drove the 4 hours to Pretoria while they conducted their meeting in the back seat! Pretty efficient, actually. And minimized the 'hooky' guilt.

Once we arrived in Pretoria, I prepared myself for finding a ticket with a professional, cardboard sign (isn't this how everyone else does it?)

On the way out of the 'park and ride' we met a couple of Algerian fans who wanted to take a photo with us; so, we obliged.

Walking toward the stadium the horse patrol were out in full force

And as expected, so were the American fans

These guys were some of my favorites in their backward spandex luge suits, or something...

Since Michelle and Maya had tickets together, Bryan and I scalped two seats and sat together. Our seats were my best yet - and for half price! We were 30 rows up from the field in the lower level between midfield and the goal.

We drank a lot of Budweiser

And then in the 90+ minute when we scored the winning goal, some of it got dumped on my head!

But, we took our win and our Budweisers and made friends with everyone. The guy on our left was from Long Beach!

And the girl on our right was dressed as the goalie. Apparently, I was dressed as a drunk girl in an American flag.

Bryan and I persevered and kept cheering even after the stadium cleared out. We were die-hards. Okay fine, we were just drunk.

But whatever...the USA WON and ADVANCED! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

Hopefully, there will be more surprise World Cup adventures to come. I'll keep you posted.