Saturday (6/12) - World Cup 2010

Saturday started out with us meeting the American Outlaws in the hotel lobby at 10 am. Some guys had just arrived and had to go get their tickets so we didn't leave on time. It was probably 11 or 11:30 before we left. Once we got on the road we headed towards Shobeen Sun City for our pre game "tailgate". We had one stop and made it to the tailgate bar/restaurant at about 1:30. There were some England fans there having some pre game beers as well. I believe they were staying at the hotel there at the casino in Sun City. We stayed there until 4:30...while there I had some Peroni (happy Zygo?) and some Black Labels...along with my Bunny Chow. Bunny Chow was basically a half loaf of bread, hollowed out and filled with beef stew. It was good....but nothing exceptional in my opinion. Before we left for the stadium, a NBC news crew showed up. Believe they were doing a live shot from there. So if you were watching the Today Show on Saturday morning and saw a report from South Africa...I was in the background there.

We got back on the bus and headed to the stadium. Our travel guys had heard that the 30 minute trip to the stadium could take us up to 2 1/2 hours as there was only one road in and one road out to the stadium in Rustenberg. We did get there pretty quickly. Since there was no beer and not much to do in the parking lot, Kevin and I headed in early to get our seats. We were in there very early. So we moved from our assigned seats down to the first row for pre game festivities. We figured we'd stay there until whoever had the seats we were in showed up.

We spent a good 2 1/2 hours in the stadium before the teams even took the field to warm up....and there weren't a lot of people in there...but there were a lot of England flag being hung up around the stadium. I think the flags they put up along just gave them a huge presence. The game finally started and England came out with a quick first goal. The US crowd stayed with the team and never gave up. We tied the game up before the end of the first half. Tim Howard was by far the man of the match for me and showed why so many US goalies are making an impact in the EPL.

After the game we headed back to the bus and departed an hour after the end of the game...but didn't end up back to the hotel until 2:30 am.....3 hours AFTER we left the stadium. Our driver took no less than 3 wrong turns. It was a long day and I should have gone to sleep....but we stayed up making fun of the driver and cracking jokes.

Today was a down day. We went to the mall and then a bar to watch the Algeria vs. Slovenia. Now back in the hotel watching the rest of the games so I can catch you guys up.

Attaching a link to pics from the last few days. These are coming from 3 different cameras. I tried to put them into chronological order as best I could....but can't make any guarantees.

Again....Sorry for any typos/grammar errors. Trying to get as much as I can here as quickly as I can.

Pics here!

Friday (6/11) World Cup 2010

On Friday our flight got in about noon. We met the American Outlaw group and then went and got our game tickets at a terminal in the airport. The line was pretty long, but moved at a decent pace. I was able to print my 3 USA game tickets, but not the other 2 games tickets I got. I was ok with that as the USA game was Saturday and I didn't need my other tickets until the 14th. I decided to print them later at a location not far from our hotel.

The group of AO members arriving at about the same time got the shuttle to the hotel. We checked in and almost immediately some of us started discussing where to go watch the South Africa vs. Mexico game. We decided to got to the Fan Fest not too far from where we were in Sandtow. We called a cab to the hotel to get us there but the first guy who showed up had no idea where we wanted to go and asked us for the address so he could put it in his GPS. We weren't very confident in that, so the hotel called us another can. The next guy showed up...new where we wanted to go and was also charging us 50 rand less than the previous guy. He took us most of the way there and then got to a point where he said it would be honestly easier for us to get out and walk the rest of the way as traffic was horrible. So, we got out and started following the crowd.

The South African crowd was lively and excited. We walked a bit and got to the gates went through. We walked around a bit and then tried to get some beers. The "line" in the beer tent was too much and so we decided to go get a spot near the screen for the game. We found a spot and started cheering and singing with all the South African fans. A lot of them were excited to see USA fans. The surprising part was that once the game started...all the South African fans sat down. Very strange. Some people continued standing...and those people got yelled at and things thrown at them. There were a tons of people. It was pretty cramped. At half time we decided to find a new spot. We went up to the top of the hill where everyone was standing and the atmosphere was electric. When South Africa scored....the place went CRAZY!!!! There were people on top of trailers and in trees in the park, etc. It was a big party until Mexico scored. People went very quiet. The atmosphere got going again later...but wasn't the same as it was before.

Once the game ended, the adventures of trying to get home began. We just started following the crowd out and into the streets. For a moment, near the front gates, I was getting pushed and shoved quite a bit and the first thing that came to mind was the trampling that happened a few days ago at a friendly down here. That feeling luckily only lasted a few seconds and very soon everyone was out and back to walking down the street. We didn't see any taxis anywhere so we just kept following the crowd down the streets. At one point a few guys came up to us and told us not to worry (apparently, I may have had a worried look on my face)...they'd help us. At first we weren't sure if we should trust these guys, etc...but after walking with them for 20+ minutes through the crowd and etc...the guys decided to follow them to the taxis stand they said was ahead. We finally got to a mall type shopping center and on the top level there was a taxis area. The guys helping us found us the line for the taxi bus that would go to Eastgate. We stood in line for awhile and they stayed with us until one of the buses got there to take us back. The taxis bus thing was a unique experience. We went through Alexandria and stopped once so the driver could count the money to make sure we'd all paid. He literally stopped in the middle of the street to count the money. Then he stopped 2 times to pick up more people. We had a total of 18 people in this mini van. It was crazy...but we did make it back to the Eastgate mall which is just across the highway from our hotel. We made it back (safe and sound mom and dad!) just before 11 pm. The Fan Fest was an experience for sure....but I am glad I did it!!!

Saturday Night

Yesterday was a long day getting into Jo'Burg and then headed to the Fan Fest for the SA vs Mex game. Today was even longer and didn't get home until just now, 3 am local time, as our bus driver got lost no less than 3 times on the way home. It turned into a 3 hour ride home. ugh. Will write a detailed update tomorrow as we have nothing major planned. So stay turned.

**My "Beat England" scarf was a hit with the Brits. heeheee

G'night

Traveling to Jo'Burg

Travel started in Houston. Boarded our flight to Dubai at 6:00 pm Houston time. Ended up sitting next to the dad of an elementary(middle/high) school friend. That was a bit strange. This was my first overseas flight. One thing I learned....the middle seat on a 15 hour flight sucks....big time. Emirates does have a nice built in entertainment system. I was able to watch 3 movie: When in Rome, The Lovely Bones, and It's Complicated. A couple others I tried to watch but the audio was off with the picture...so went to the others. Had plenty of food on the flight along with a blanket! YEA! Although this was one of the first flights were I wasn't actually cold....I was more on the warm side. That didn't help when I tried to sleep. I attempted to sleep and ended up taking an ambien...it put me to sleep but wasn't able to sleep long because I just wasn't comfortable.

We landed in Dubai at about 7pm local time. The airport here is very cool. Went from the airport to a hotel for the layover. Once there I showered and then headed to the pub downstairs. Had a few beers then decided to try out the hotel buffet as they had given us free dinners and you can't pass up a free dinner. We filled up and then went back to the room. Decided to go ahead and sleep for the few hours till our 2 am wake up call. So here we are now. It is 3:19 am here in Dubai. We are set to board the plane in about 30 minutes. After that we have a nearly 9 hour flight to Jo'Burg. Very excited to get there.

On our flights from Houston to Dubai and now to Jo'Burg, there have been quite a few USA fans. I'd estimate 20...although there have been others who we've met who weren't in USA gear...so they may be traveling incognito. There were 2 Mexico fans as well as a family of Netherlands fans. I have actually met them before as they attend Dynamo games and were some the first people to buy a koozie from me back in February at the Dynamo Stadium rally.

I am going to wrap this up now so I can get ready to board the flight. Thanks for everyones well wishes!!! I am very excited to finally get to South Africa and REALLY get this trip started...with a USA WIN on Saturday!!

***As I am going to try to post as often as possible...and will probably be typing quickly whenever I have a chance, there may be typos, etc. Please excuse them for now. Thanks!!

The game I didn't get to see - US vs. Turkey

If you follow me on twitter you probably already know what happened to me and my two friends yesterday at the US send off game vs Turkey.

The day started out like any other pre game. We were tailgating at Lincoln Financial Field and having a great time. I was very excited for the game because unlike the other US games I had been to, this one was going to be full of US fans and that got me even more pumped for the game. At about 12:30 we started cleaning up the tailgate to head in to the game. The American Outlaw section is general admission, so we were heading in early to get a good spot.

Once in the stadium we head down and get a good spot in the section right behind the goal and on the first row. People were slowly coming in and the team came on to do their pre game warm up, etc. People were already chanting and getting pumped for the game. The game was still over 30 minutes away from starting and a guy behind us decided to light some kind of smoke bomb. He lights it and stands there holding it above his head in a Statue of Liberty type manner. He then drops it. Meanwhile security is yelling at him to put it out, then yelling for it to be tossed out of the section so they can take care of it. Since it is behind us, my friend turns around and attempts to pick it up to give to security. It is too hot for her to pick up so she turns back to security and tells them it is too hot. Someone uses their scarf and drops it over the wall toward the security guys. We go on cheering and ask one of the kids on the field to take a picture of us (the one at the top of this post). As he is handing the camera back to my friend a security guard on the field who hadn't been there earlier comes walking toward us and points to the 3 of us. "You. You. You. You're gone!" We look around wondering if he is talking to us. We were very confused. Then we hear someone say "smoke bomb". So now we are more confused...because we didn't have anything to do with the smoke bomb, in fact we tried to help the security guy out by giving it to them.

So we walk up to the concourse and are continuing to ask what we did, what is going on. And they are replying back with you're going to be removed from the stadium, etc. We are freaking out. We traveled all this way JUST FOR THIS GAME and before it even starts we are being kicked out. We ask to speak to the person who decided to throw us out and he comes up and would not listen to us. He cuts us off whenever we try to ask him what we are being thrown out for, etc. He tells the other security guards to take us to holding down below the stadium and take us out.

We are escorted below the stadium with about 5 security dressed all in black and combat boots, etc. The 3 of us to continue to ask what is happening, etc. They take us below where we are asked for our drivers licences and tickets. They make copies of this and then start filling out some kind of paper work. Meanwhile I just take a seat on the floor and cry. We can hear all the pregame festivities taking place. We even see the officiating crew walk out and go onto the field. The Star Spangled Banner Starts playing and at that point I am sobbing. Tears streaming down my face because I am missing all of this.

They finish up the paper work and then ask us to stand in front of the wall so they can take our pictures. I go first. Even though I have been sobbing and am so unbelievably sad/pissed/dejected/confused, I put on the biggest smile I can for the picture. After we all have our pictures taken, the two security guards that have stuck around the whole time then proceed to escort us from the stadium.

That was my experience for the US vs Turkey game. Not one I will ever forget, but for all the wrong reasons.

One Month!

It has been awhile since I've done an update on my trip to the World Cup. Seeing as in one month I will be on a plane bound for the trip of a lifetime, I figured I would share some of the details/events of my trip in a timeline type format. I checked into internet access at the hotel and I will have access. I hope to update this as much as possible while I am there, but I can't make any guarantees.

So, here is what I have planned so far for my trip to World Cup 2010. All times are local to the city I am in unless otherwise noted.

• Wednesday, June 9: Leave Houston at 6:50 pm on Emirates

• Thursday, June 10: Arrive in Dubai, UAE at 6:45 pm

• Friday, June 11: Depart Dubai at 4:40 am and arrive in Johannesburg at 10:50 am

I will be staying at the Southern Sun, StayEasy Eastgate in Johannesburg with 49 other members of the American Outlaws. I am traveling with my friend and fellow AO/Texian Army member Kevin. Our friends Max and Sean will be meeting us there in Jo'Burg and crashing on our floor. :)

• Saturday, June 12: USA vs. England game in Rustenburg at Royal Bafokeng Stadium -8:30 pm local time / 1:30 pm Central time

We will be leaving our hotel at 10 am to travel to Sun City to tailgate at Shebeen, then travel the 30 minutes to the game in Rustenburg.

• Monday, June 14: Netherlands vs. Denmark game in Johannesburg at Soccer City Stadium -1:30 pm local time/ 6:30 am Central time

• Tuesday, June 15: Johannesburg & Soweto Tour - 8am

Description of tour: This guided tour will take you through affluent suburbs, comparing the different houses: matchbox houses, elephant houses and informal settlements. On route to the first stop, view structures reminiscent of South Africa's Apartheid past. Stop at the old mine compounds.

Your guide will take you on a short tour of the Baragwanath taxi ranks and markets. Experience general urban life and culture in a black township. Some of the things you may see include: colorful markets, ladies carrying goods on their head, the local barber shop, "spaza" or informal shops, ladies doing their washing, donkey carts carrying coal, local home made beer brewing, traditional restaurants, traditional medicine and traditional healers, taxi commuters using local sign language to communicate with the driver, etc. You will have an opportunity to meet the people of Soweto. Your guide will stop at Motswaledi or Kliptown informal settlements.

Your tour continues with a drive to the suburb of Orlando. You will be able to view famous black activists' houses during the apartheid years. See the houses of Winnie Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu. Then on to a guided tour of the house where Mr Nelson Mandela, the famous previous president, lived before he was imprisoned in 1964.

The tour ends with the Hector Petersen Memorial Square and Museum. The Hector Pieterson memorial and museum has been established to preserve the history and memory of all those who were involved in the Soweto uprising of 16 June 1976. The museum is named after 13 year old Hector Pieterson, who was among the first student victims to die from police shootings. The memorial to Hector Pieterson is situated a few hundred meters from where he was shot. The museum houses photographic and audio-visual displays of the struggle of the youth against the injustices of apartheid.

• Wednesday, June 16: Dinner at Moyo at 8pm

Moyo is a a unique destination for a sophisticated African experience. Inspired by the traditions and values of their ancestors, Moyo is a celebration of, and commitment to, the beauty of Africa and the industry of her people. Their famously warm hospitality and modern African ambiance makes theMoyo experience an unforgettable one. Allow yourself to be transformed. With a song on the lips of the Wishy-Washy ladies, you will be welcomed to the age-old tradition of the Africa hand-washing and face painting ceremonies. Uncage your spirit, invigorate your senses and revitalize your soul.

• Friday, June 18: USA vs Slovenia in Johannesburg at Ellis Park Stadium - 4:00 pm local time/ 9:00 am Central time

We are leaving the hotel at 10:30 am and headed to The Radium Beer Hall for tailgating before walking to the stadium for the match

• Saturday, June 19: American Oultlaws vs. Fat Cats Soccer Club of South Africa

I'll be going as a spectator on this one!

This is also my niece Mia's second birthday and I am going to be missing her and her party. I know she will be rooting for the USA and Auntie Erin!

• Sunday, June 20: Brazil vs. Ivory Coast in Johannesburg at Soccer City Stadium - 8:30 pm local time/1:30 pm Central time

• Monday, June 21: World Of Beer Tour

South African Brewery World of Beer is a fun-filled showcase of brewing.

This is a uniquely memorable experience unveils beer heritage - the magic of beer and brewing from ancient Mesopotamia, through Africa and Europe. Since opening it doors almost ten years ago, the World of Beer has grown in stature and has become a popular attraction for tourists and South Africans alike. Making beer and making friends goes hand in hand at The World of Beer and to end your visit, you are invited to relax in the Tap Room and enjoy two glasses of your favorite cold one.

• Tuesday, June 22: African Safari Tour

African Safari experts will show you some of the most special places in South Africa. During this African safari you will see elephants crossing scorched landscapes, zebras cutting across sunlit savannah plains and prowling lions. South Africa has many spectacular wildlife destinations that are as rich and diverse in habitats as in wildlife.

Going through at network zigzag and dirt roads you will be viewing varied habitats, prolific wildlife, and sprawling landscapes. Sightings such as lions, leopards, elephants, black rhino, buffalo, cheetahs, and wild hogs will fill your day with excitement.

• Wednesday, June 23: USA vs. Algeria in Tshwane/Pretoria at Loftus Versfield Stadium - 4:00 pm local time/ 9:00 am Central time

Leaving the hotel at 9:00 am to travel to Pretoria and tailgate at Homebaze before the game.

• Thursday, June 24: Depart Johannesburg at 7:05 pm

• Friday, June 25: Arrive in Dubai at 5:05 am. Depart Dubai at 9:05 am

• Friday, June 25: Arrive in Houston at 4:25 pm

Should be an exciting and fun filled trip. I don't think it has REALLY hit me yet that this is actually going to happen. I don't think it will hit me until I am stepping onto the plane and getting settled in for the almost 15 hour flight.

Don't forget that you can still get your USA World Cup Koozies to help support this once in a lifetime trip that I am embarking on in just a month. Koozies are $5 each and a great way to show your support for the men in red, white and blue.

Thank you so much for your continued support!

Koozies!

Koozies are here! Help support US Soccer and my trip to the World Cup by buying a few USA World Cup Koozies. Perfect for keeping your drink cold and your hand dry. You know you need one. Heck, you REALLY need 4 or 5, right? Five bucks (and $1 for shipping) gets you this oh so useful item.

Thank you for your support!!