We Have Arrived!!

A very good way to watch this game was with my English friend, Adrian, who earned enough points for Annebe to let him go. We parked his car 1.5 miles away from the stadium hoping we would find it after the game. There were hundreds of people all around the stadium, drinking, selling tickets, making bets, always smiling and enjoying the atmosphere. After a couple of “root beers,” we found our seats in one of the few U.S. sections. Our fans were ready to support our team, and while we had less fans, we had our Vice President in the locker room inspiring the players and our President encouraged our fans on the stands. Rooney is just above most players… he kept coming on strong against our defense but they managed to contain him throughout the game.

On paper and for the first 30 minutes, England was superior but our midfield and backline teamed up to stop them time after time. Then we score and Adrian decided he needed more root beers. While our goal was a mistake, we deserved it as we had a couple of clear opportunities. All we need now is for Donovan to show up for the next two games (yes he did a lot of running and defending but his attack was missing) as Algeria looks tough and Slovenia already has 3 points. Overall the referee, did well. Two observations: he could have replaced two cautions with a strong butt-chewing (verbal warning) and IMO should have cautioned Heskey in the first half when he “made himself bigger” to handle the ball. Batres (Guatemala) correctly cautioned #9 from Algeria for a similar handling of the ball. With one point each, Adrian and I took a nice jog to the car, beating most vehicles to the first toll gate. He was a bit (a lot) disappointed so it is a good thing we have become good friends or he may have kicked me out of the car One final note… people are beginning to blame the Jabulani (ball) and yes, it picks up speed when it bounces but it has been goalkeeper issues and not the Jabulani.