12 JUN - THE GAME (Day 5)
I'm trying to put the day references that Rocco uses so that you don't get confused.
Today, we drove to Gelsenkirchen from Dusseldorf for the USA - Czech Republic match. IT'S THE BIG DAY.
We drove around Dusseldorf a little bit and then moseyed down the road to Gelsenkirchen. Dr. D is moseyed a word? Rocco probably mentioned it but it's worth mentioning again. Gelsenkirchen's most notable landmark is a HUGE slag heap. We saw it from the road, even.
It was easy to find the fans in town although it was sometime hard to distinguish them. The colors for both teams are red, white and blue although maybe they say them in a little different order in the Czech Republic. Rocco and I, regaled in our red shirts, US flags and scarves, immediately came upon a large group of Czech fans. At least, we couldn't understand what they were saying! It was all in fun though.
We walked down the main shopping street of town and easily found the US section. You could hear them from 2 blocks away. They were gathered around a bar called the Hibernia Brauhaus. It was about noon and the US fans were already in full swing, drinking and singing. There were still 6 hours until the match. Here is the group that was gathered when we arrived.
I needed some cash so we sauntered down the main shopping street. We went clear to the other end, probably 11 miles, wink-wink-nudge-nudge. We did find a bank so Bob's you're aunt.
We met some interesting characters along the way. First off, while I was in the Bank, Rocco made friends with one of the members of the Czech Kiss tribute band, I'll call him Gene. Gene offered Rocco some "orange juice". Rocco politely declined because he didn't want to end-up the same as the guying lying next to him in the picture.
We also met the Bronx Globetrotters. I say Bronx because these guys were definitely not from Harlem.
By the way, we were right near the original Harlem or as it is spelled in the Netherlands, Haarlem. If you'll remember your US history, New York was originally New Amsterdam and Haarlem is a neighborhood in Amsterdam. Thus endeth the history lesson.
Rocco and I had the privilege of meeting the real Uncle Sam. He wasn't sitting to far from us at the game either.
As we were walking along the shopping avenue in Gelsenkirchen, I felt like I was back in high school again. It seemed that we had to acknowledge or nod to any US fan or cheer back at any Czech fan. I'm always a little confused in this social situation. Any thoughts?
We returned to the US meeting point to find a bank RIGHT THERE. Things were in FULL SWING back at the Hibernia. The crowd had about tripled and they had pulled-out the HUGE US flag. They were also still singing, the US National Anthem and God Bless America, NOT the Lee Greenwood version.
There were some more AWESOME costumes on display.
Captain America
Alexi Lalas' father as Uncle Sam
A WWF Team USA wrester
I couldn't match those guys but I had fun with my face paint. Rocco and I had a very nice time with a couple from Baltimore while we were waiting to go to the match. The lady kindly touched up my face paint. I'm not very good at applying make-up by feel. I mean I can do rouge and mascara like a champ but full-head face paint is tough.
We did eventually make it to the stadium. We rode the local train. It was PACKED. As we egressed from the train and walked to the stadium, we realized that our seats were just to the right of the train station. Unfortunately, we couldn't walk that way because of gates. We had to walk all the way around the stadium. It was at least 100 miles, maybe even 103. We finally made it though. Here is proof, see the football field in the background?
A few comments about the match. The US fans were TOTALLY pumped before the game started. I think we did the best job of cheering continuously than many of the other teams. I stood almost the entire match. We were also right in the middle of the US cheering section. It was really fun to have a drum. I got to kind of lead some of the cheers. It's amazing how much a drum helps keep the energy going for a whole section.
The US lost the match to the Czech Republic, 0-3. It was absolutely disheartening. After the first goal, the fans lost some energy but we were still hopeful. After the second goal though, we were just completely demoralized. We didn't even participate in the wave. Then when the third goal came, we knew we were sunk. At this point, it would take a miracle to get the US back into it.
Rocco and I are still going to the next US match and we are still going to be hooligans though. Hope you see us on TV!
Dejectedly,
Knuckles
Today, we drove to Gelsenkirchen from Dusseldorf for the USA - Czech Republic match. IT'S THE BIG DAY.
We drove around Dusseldorf a little bit and then moseyed down the road to Gelsenkirchen. Dr. D is moseyed a word? Rocco probably mentioned it but it's worth mentioning again. Gelsenkirchen's most notable landmark is a HUGE slag heap. We saw it from the road, even.
It was easy to find the fans in town although it was sometime hard to distinguish them. The colors for both teams are red, white and blue although maybe they say them in a little different order in the Czech Republic. Rocco and I, regaled in our red shirts, US flags and scarves, immediately came upon a large group of Czech fans. At least, we couldn't understand what they were saying! It was all in fun though.
We walked down the main shopping street of town and easily found the US section. You could hear them from 2 blocks away. They were gathered around a bar called the Hibernia Brauhaus. It was about noon and the US fans were already in full swing, drinking and singing. There were still 6 hours until the match. Here is the group that was gathered when we arrived.
I needed some cash so we sauntered down the main shopping street. We went clear to the other end, probably 11 miles, wink-wink-nudge-nudge. We did find a bank so Bob's you're aunt.
We met some interesting characters along the way. First off, while I was in the Bank, Rocco made friends with one of the members of the Czech Kiss tribute band, I'll call him Gene. Gene offered Rocco some "orange juice". Rocco politely declined because he didn't want to end-up the same as the guying lying next to him in the picture.
We also met the Bronx Globetrotters. I say Bronx because these guys were definitely not from Harlem.
By the way, we were right near the original Harlem or as it is spelled in the Netherlands, Haarlem. If you'll remember your US history, New York was originally New Amsterdam and Haarlem is a neighborhood in Amsterdam. Thus endeth the history lesson.
Rocco and I had the privilege of meeting the real Uncle Sam. He wasn't sitting to far from us at the game either.
As we were walking along the shopping avenue in Gelsenkirchen, I felt like I was back in high school again. It seemed that we had to acknowledge or nod to any US fan or cheer back at any Czech fan. I'm always a little confused in this social situation. Any thoughts?
We returned to the US meeting point to find a bank RIGHT THERE. Things were in FULL SWING back at the Hibernia. The crowd had about tripled and they had pulled-out the HUGE US flag. They were also still singing, the US National Anthem and God Bless America, NOT the Lee Greenwood version.
There were some more AWESOME costumes on display.
Captain America
Alexi Lalas' father as Uncle Sam
A WWF Team USA wrester
I couldn't match those guys but I had fun with my face paint. Rocco and I had a very nice time with a couple from Baltimore while we were waiting to go to the match. The lady kindly touched up my face paint. I'm not very good at applying make-up by feel. I mean I can do rouge and mascara like a champ but full-head face paint is tough.
We did eventually make it to the stadium. We rode the local train. It was PACKED. As we egressed from the train and walked to the stadium, we realized that our seats were just to the right of the train station. Unfortunately, we couldn't walk that way because of gates. We had to walk all the way around the stadium. It was at least 100 miles, maybe even 103. We finally made it though. Here is proof, see the football field in the background?
A few comments about the match. The US fans were TOTALLY pumped before the game started. I think we did the best job of cheering continuously than many of the other teams. I stood almost the entire match. We were also right in the middle of the US cheering section. It was really fun to have a drum. I got to kind of lead some of the cheers. It's amazing how much a drum helps keep the energy going for a whole section.
The US lost the match to the Czech Republic, 0-3. It was absolutely disheartening. After the first goal, the fans lost some energy but we were still hopeful. After the second goal though, we were just completely demoralized. We didn't even participate in the wave. Then when the third goal came, we knew we were sunk. At this point, it would take a miracle to get the US back into it.
Rocco and I are still going to the next US match and we are still going to be hooligans though. Hope you see us on TV!
Dejectedly,
Knuckles
posted by jprg4evr at 3:45 PM
1 Comments:
The guy who offered me "orange juice" actually said it was orange juice and vodka, but regardless, I didn't want to end up like the guy laying down. Someone said he had been laying there for a couple of hours, and it was not quiet around there.
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