When Plaxico Burress caught Eli Manning's fade pass to give the Giants the lead over the unbeaten Patriots in the Super Bowl a few years back, I had tears in my eyes. That had never happened before, and I thought it might never happen again; last minute heroics of that magnitude are rare, after all. When Landon Donovan scored tonight after the 90th minute, saving the USA from elimination and instead giving them the top spot in Group C, my eyes were teary again. It was the most emotional victory I have ever been a part of, and I'll never forget it.
I'm getting ahead of myself; let's start at the beginning. We got to Pretoria this afternoon after a morning drive from Kruger National Park (which was pretty awesome). After a quick look at the old Pretoria city center, we walked to a bar where tons of USA fans were loudly celebrating three hours before the game. We walked from there to the stadium with throngs of other Americans. Emotions were high, people were fired up, and everyone knew the stakes: win and move on, lose and go home.
The stadium in Pretoria was small and sort of crappy. A crowd of 35,000+ dragged in slowly; tons of Americans and Algerians were there early, but neutral fans strolled in just before kickoff. Americans were decked out in red, white and blue and were very boisterous; security officials telling people to sit down were met with jeering and resistance. From there, the first 90 minutes of the game were frustrating; missed opportunities, bad calls and no scoring.
Then came the goal. With most hope lost, the USA scored on a rebound on virtually the last kick of the game. The stands absolutely erupted, beer flew everywhere and everyone in our entirely-American section was hugging, high-fiving and screaming. When the game officially ended, the partying continued and spread into the aisles and concourses; everyone remained in the stadium for a long time. We ran down to the field to greet the team as they came across the field to thank the loyal crowd. Jozy Altidore jumped the LED signs that surround the field and leaned into the stands right in front of us, and I was close enough to rub his head for what will hopefully be some round of 16 luck.
What's next, you ask? We're now back in the car driving overnight to Cape Town to get to Cameroon versus Netherlands tomorrow night and see the city the day after. Because we want to see the USA play either Germany, Ghana, Serbia or Australia (that group is wide open), we're driving back the night of the 25th to get to the game in Rustenburg on the 26th. Then the next night we'll see England play in Bloemfontein - we originally figured the USA would finish 2nd and play there on the 27th. It's going to be absolutely exhausting, but I'll probably only be here once and have to make the most of it. Wish us luck as we drive across the country, and stay tuned for some thoughts on our Cape Town game some time tomorrow. USA! USA!
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1 comment:
The States are joyous as well -- it was an insane Wednesday morning. I watched at the Elephant and Castle Pub in Boston, and they stopped letting people in at halftime due to the fire code. By the 70th minute, a crowd had formed outside the bar watching through the windows. And when the goal went through, the atmosphere was only a little bit less exciting than this: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/video/mediacenterbc3.html?bcpid=30884189001&bctid=101507741001
I guess we should temper all this emotion with the fact that we haven't beaten a quality team yet, but I'm willing to wait a day to have that conversation. Bring on Ghana!
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