Bafana Bafana

Just leaving Ellis Park after watching the best game of the tournament and possibly the best goal of the tourney so far. Landon Donovan's run and shot was unreal. We had great seats, first row of the upper deck on the 30 yard line. The entire stadium was pulling for the US. I was so proud of how many Americans made the trek. The vibe is unreal here. The people are extremely helpful and friendly and love that we made the trip to their country.

I have to say that the flights over were pleasant, comfortable and definetly worth using all my miles. I ate beef tenderloin on both flights and had my share of wine, cheeses and desserts. It was great. When I arrived into Joburg, I took the new Gautrain into town where a rep from the hostel picked me up. When we arrived at the hostel Darryl and Marcel just walked in behind me. It was perfect timing! The hostel itself was ok....lots of friendly people all over so we all chilled and had nice conversation over a Castle (local beer).

I have to say that the first night at the hostel was like torture. We froze our ass off. I guess Joburg is at 6000 ft elevation and this week was the coldest ever. It was below freezing and nobody has heat here. The private room that we got was all windows on one side so the crisp freezing air came right through. Instead of the three of us sleeping in our own bunks, we all crawled into the 1 full size bed to keep ourselves warm with our body heat. We looked like kittens next to mama. We pulled the mattresses off the bunks and layer them on top of us to keep warm. I think I slept 3 hrs and that was because of the Jager's we drank to get warm. It was brutal and by far one of the most unconfortable nights of my life. When I woke up I took a cold shower and we got the hell out of there.

Game 1: Argentina vs. South Korea

We were late...arrived an hour late on the plane, 9:00 am. It took me over an hr to get my bags and get to the hostel. Then we had to go to the FIFA ticket center to get our game tix. We were on our way to Soccer City stadium and the traffic was unreal. Complete gridlock! Marcel was driving and we heard sirens coming from behind us on the M1 freeway. About that time we realized it was the Argentina team busses getting escorted to the stadium. I look behind through the window and I se Diego Maradona sitting in the front seat. Marcel pulled a brilliant move and put his hazards on and followed the busses. The cops an all other traffic thought we were with the team so we had cops escort us all the way to the stadium. We could have followed the busses inside the stadium but we decided not to push our luck. Parking was a pain too because I guess you have to buy a sticker to park in the "make shift" parking lots. We did not have one so a cop sold us one illegally so we could get in. We were late.... The parking lots are 2 km away due to security reasons. We ran the entire way hoping that we would not miss Messi's first goal of the tournament. We arrived and were in our 6th row, 30 yd line seats with only 10 minutes in. Marcel was able to sit next to us because there was an open seat next to us. Worked out perfectly. The game was unbelievable. We were sitting right in the middle of the Argentina fans singing cheer after cheer! It was an awesome experience. After seeing Higuain's hattrick we stayed and sang with the Argentina fans for an hour.

Game 2: USA vs. Slovenia - Ellis Park, Johannesburg

We were ready for this game! We got to the stadium early. Parking was about 2 km away and we had to walk through a neighborhood where the locals were selling food, vuvuzelas, hats, shirts, etc. It was a pretty cool scene. Every house we walked by had barbed wire and walls protecting their house. Ellis park is an old school venue and actually an awesome place to watch football. The stands go straight up and there is actually not a bad seat in the house. Our tickets were in the first row of the upper deck on the 30 yd. line. Great seats to watch the game. It was good to see that the locals were supporting the US. The Americans never gave up and the 2nd half was sooo exciting! We were completely robbed of 3 pts. That was the worst display of refereeing I have ever seen. The guy is from Mali where none of us knew where that is. It is also weird to drink Budweiser beer in Africa. The only two beverages they sell in the stadium are Budweiser and Coca-Cola. THe FIFA mafia controlling is totally controlling this World Cup! They would not allow us to trade or sell our unused tickets. It is a shame because we have tickets to Portugal vs. North Korea and have to eat them.

Another funny thing that I have experienced is that I have seen the same American in an Elvis costume 4 times already. I rode the train with him from the airport, saw him in a car riding to the Arg game, saw him in the game and saw him the next day at the US game. Weird....

Game 3: Australia vs. Ghana - Rustenburg

We traveled to Rustenburg via car to meet with our Aussie friends. We are staying at a guest house where the Aussie's are staying. The couple that own it gave the three of us their own room for us to sleep. They went to stay at their kids house down on the same property. It is awesome! We slept for 9 hrs! It was warm and comfortable!! They are treating us like family, exactly what we needed. Now we are on our way to the stadium.....


- Posted using my iPhone, live from the World Cup.

Location:3rd St,Johannesburg,South Africa