USA-Ghana and the Journey Home

Notice the banner in the top left of the picture...


Landycakes with a clutch spot kick


Obligatory "As One" photo


National anthem, always a really cool moment


Fantastic wardrobe choice, so many things going on here. Keep in mind, it was about 45 degrees outside.


To be generous, Rustenburg is a "rural" community. In other words, there is nothing within 100 kilometers in any direction. To make matters worse, the stadium is technically in Bafokeng, a suburb (if you could call it that) of Rustenburg at the end of a very long one-lane highway, on which impatient traveling cars often create additional lanes. If you get into any kind of serious accident, you're pretty much assured death. Needless to say, our three hour journey from Johannesburg was made very cautiously in our beautiful Volkswagen Polo. We had along with us three Colby '09ers (Danny Wasserman, Dan Heinrich, and Scott Zeller), who have achieved great fame in the aftermath of the game via the photo above.
We returned to the shebeen that was so boisterous for the England game, only to find a much more calm crowd. Apparently, Ghana fans do not travel well. In a twist all the Americans found rather humorous, the fan base best represented other than the USA was England. You see, in a bit of arrogant presumption, the English fans before the World Cup even started all purchased tickets to the match of the Group C Winner, assuming it would be their team. They were wrong, and the consequence was that they were both stuck with tickets they didn't want and had to pony up the cash to attend England's game the next day (which turned out to be a 4-1 waxing at the hands of Germany). I would have felt bad, but they were so cocky about their team at the opening match that I instead just pointed and laughed.
As for the game itself, well...too soon. Whenever it takes you 45 minutes, conceding a goal, and two subs to get your best lineup on the field, you're probably not going to win. Great effort from a lot of the US guys, but in the end they just ran out of gas. That and their inability to finish really cost them (obviously), and in spite of their valiant effort they couldn't muster any more last minute heroics. Like us, they were going home.
Sitting in traffic for a few hours after the game did little to help matters, and by the time Tuesday rolled around we were ready to make our way back to the States. After digesting a stellar diet of movies on the flight from Johannesburg to Dubai (Date Night, what a classic), I was glad to have only a brief stopover at the Dubai Zoo, er, airport. It is simply an insane place, worthy of its own exposition beyond what has already been written here. After a 13 hour flight to JFK and a quick hour and a half flight back to Boston, it was back to reality.
I think as time passes I will have more profound things to think about/reflect on about this trip. For now, I can definitively say that seeing both the soccer and the culture, and watching the unique interplay between the two, made for a once in a lifetime experience. Having the ability to go to a new continent- not a country, as Ms. Palin suggests- and learning about its history and its desire for a better future, makes me incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities I have had to this point in my life. I'm so glad I didn't go straight to work after school (not that I had a choice!), and instead chose to open myself to a brand new experience. Ritz and all, I would do it again without a second thought.