Watching the World Cup Overseas

I said I was going to do a post about this, and now feels like a good time. Tonight is somewhat cheating, as I went to a bar that was 90% American, but whatever. We just won the match, and the Germans made it really easy to advance so long as we get a draw with Portugal.

I arrived at the bar 40 minutes before start time. There were about 15 other Americans there. By game time, that number had swelled to over 100 easily. We all sang the national anthem, and the goal by Clint Dempsey set the place to madness. Everyone was jumping up and.down, hugging other people, and chanting USA! USA! Ghana certainly had the run of play throughout the first half, but every time they gave it away, a cheer went up, and when Clint Dempsey's nose was busted open, there was a great appeal for a card.

Ghana did score in the 82nd minute. This brought a cheer from the one West African guy, and a few Europeans who entered the bar. The response from the Americans was a resounding chant of USA! USA! USA! Soon enough, that chant was answered with another goal. The American fans responded by going even crazier than they did for Dempsey's opener, and for much of the last 5 minutes, the familiar chant of "I Believe That We Will Win!" rang out through the bar. The full time whistle set off another round of USA chants, and we all headed out into the night drunk and happy, except for the foolish Europeans who decided to watch the game with us.

Before the crowd gathered, I was expecting to write that this was similar to watching Mizzou play a conference championship. After the second goal, I have to change my tune. This was the most bonkers I have ever seen sports fans get over one team. The few Europeans who spent the night with us saw something that should terrify them. Here was a good sized crowd of Americans on their turf, shouting them down over their game, and beating the team they were supporting. Couple that with the German result, and there is a clear path for us to make the knockout round with a draw against a weakened Portuguese side. This probably represented the last chance to put us out early, and it has probably failed. From here on out, the Europeans had better just pencil us into the knockout rounds like they would Italy or the Dutch.