Hallo aus der Deutsche Bahn! I am currently sitting on the Inner-City Express train headed for the capital of Germany; Berlin! I'm so excited, you all have no idea. My inner history nerd is already out in full force (well, then again, when is it not?) But.. before I get to more of my plans for Berlin, I need to talk about the games of the World Cup played yesterday.
So, yesterday beginning at around 4pm German time, the final games for Group C were scheduled. At the time being, the group standings were as follows; Slovenia was first with 4 points, then England and the US tied for 2nd, both with 2 points each, and Algeria bringin' up the caboose with a big fat 0. Well, as you know (or for the many Americans reading this, maybe you don't..) only the first 2 teams make it out of each group to advance to the next round. After doing the math (uuhh 2+2=3? I haven't had a math class since Lincoln was president...), I knew that if England won their game against Slovenia, the US would HAVE to win against Algeria. And if Slovenia beat the Brits, then my Yankees would only need a tie. Kai came home early from work with Johanna, and Lisa stopped working so that all of us (and Cutie Bear changed into his special WM shirt) could sit around and watch the games. Unfortunately for me, the channel here decided that no one would want to watch the US vs. Algeria game, so the one televised was the English/Slovenian game. BTW, let it be said that the English seem to be completely undeserving of their hype. Seriously, the only kinda good part about watching the Brits play in this world cup, is that you occasionally get a quick glance at the ridiculously good-looking David Beckham on the bench. England in the 2010 World Cup = Snoozefest. But anyway.. where were we? So by half time, the scores for both games (England/Slovenia and US/Algeria) were 0-0. They did at one point jump to the US game to show a goal that was scored by the Americans, but taken away because the ref called “off-sides”. But when watched again through replay, it was clearly not, and a perfectly good goal. But oh yeah, that’s right. FIFA doesn’t allow instant replay etc. so the call stood and the score was still 0-0 (the same thing happened to a goal made by the US in their previous Slovenia game that would have ended in a 3-2 win for the Yanks if they would have f’ing instant replay/review of calls in soccer! Grrrr…) The second half started and again, I was stuck watching the England game with no updates of my beloved Patriots. England finally scored to give them what would be the final win of 1-0 over the Slovenians, also known as the Charlie Browns (have you seen their uniforms?). As the time was winding down the score in the USA/Algeria game was still 0-0 with only about a minute left. As I sat there on the couch, I honestly started to lose all hope. With a British win, the US would have to win their game as well, or they would be on the next flight back to the States. I sat there in despair and I could tell Lisa was really starting to feel bad for me. The 90 minutes of regular play ended and the additional 2-3 minutes of extra time had begun. This was it. The Americans were going home. And then. It happened. The announcer on the TV (since again, we were still stuck watching the English game with no details about the US game other than the score) yelled out in German “We have a goal in the other game!” Lisa then grabbed my leg and we both said “no!” Of course, to help build the suspense, the announcer didn’t say which team had scored. The station switched its feed to the US/Algeria game and all we could see was a dog-pile of human bodies. It took us all watching a quick second to realize that the men celebrating were wearing white, which meant the US had pulled it off! Like a thief in the night, Landon Donovan came up from behind to easily kick a rebound into the practically open net! I can’t even tell you how unbelievable it was! I instantly began jumping around the living room yelling while Kai and Lisa just stared in utter disbelief. The Americans made the goal in the 2nd minute of ADDITIONAL time to win the game, and thus win FIRST PLACE in Group C! Incredible.. or as Emma would say: UNREAL!!!! So, the men of Stars and Stripes are movin’ on and are now scheduled to play the second place team from Group D (Ghana) this Saturday night. WHICH MEANS! I get to watch this, wrapped in my American Flag at the largest public viewing place in Germany: the city center of Berlin! Seriously, incredible! Later that night, the Germans took on Ghana, and they too HAD to win to make it out of their group. With Australia beating Slovakia (the two other teams in Group D), Germany had a little more room for error, but still needed to at least tie, or flat out win. Luckily, on the foot of my favorite player, Mesut Özil (aged 21 btw… uuhhh wtf?) the Germans were able to hold on to the win, 1-0 over my new enemies of Ghana. Unfortunately, the Germans also won first place in their group to make it to the next round. I say unfortunately, because if they would have won second, they would have been scheduled to play the US. But alas, the stars had aligned one too many times for one day. Anyone who knows me, knows I have never been that much of a soccer person. But I have gone crazy over it since living here and experiencing the World Cup as I think that it really should be experienced. I know all the players now, from numerous teams, what team they normally play for, who is winning what group, couches, etc… its almost embarrassing, really. Emily and her dad would be so proud (Well, maybe her dad wouldn’t be too proud—I think he could still be upset over all the clients I let ‘fall through’…)
With that all being said, I am almost out of battery on my laptop, so I am going to enjoy the view of the German countryside, and read my new book. But! I have my computer with me (obviously) so I will be able to add updates of my entire stay while in Berlin! So, stay tuned! xoxox MegLett
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