We arrived early Thursday in Nuremberg, Germany, for the United States final group match vs. Ghana. For the first time since we had come to Germany the firery heat had gone, and there was a chill in the air.
Like us, thousand of Americans wandered through the Nuremberg’s old town eating local cuisine, drinking tasty beer and occasionally singing and cheering. Our pace was slow; we were nervous of the day ahead. The mood was more subdued than in Kaiserslautern days earlier. There was guarded optimism, but optimism nonetheless.
We wanted to get to the stadium early. We were ready to do battle, ready to have our fate determined. We found our seats, seven rows behind one of the goals, surrounded by other U.S. fans. As the game started, U.S. fans began their usual chants and songs, but couldn’t quite seem to get in synch, much like our team on the field.
Still, when Clint Dempsey scored a tying goal for the Americans, it briefly seemed like it would be our day. Dempsey was our best player in this World Cup, and we were glad to see him get a goal.
Our enthusiasm was short-lived. After yet another controversial call, we found ourselves behind yet again. And this time, not many of us believed we would find a way back. And we were right.
If a loss like this had occurred back home at a Lions game, the fans would have quickly filed out. But we fans sat and waited for team to come over to our section of the stands and wave goodbye. The U.S. players lingered and so did their fans. Neither wanted their World Cup to be over.
The sports axiom, “there is always next year,” doesn’t apply in world soccer. It will be four years until America gets a chance to prove itself on this stage again. Many of the faces will different.
But we hope to be them with them in four years. South Africa here we come.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Just like the U.S. National Team, our World Cup is over. We’ve been planning this trip for more than two years, but it ends when we catch a plane back to Detroit on Saturday. Despite the U.S.’s performance, it’s been the trip of a lifetime. Here our some final thoughts from Germany:
* Soccer fans are good people. Almost everyone we encountered was friendly or at least peaceful. Even dressed head-to-toe in U.S. gear, we encountered no hostility. All our worries about hooligans quickly evaporated. We only saw one fight: And that was English fans beating on each other at 5 in the morning.
* Stadium security and transportation were unimpressive. Considering the scale of the World Cup, we didn’t see nearly as many police officers as we expected. Sure, nothing bad happened at any of the matches we saw. But what if it had? Also, it took a miserably long time to get in and out of stadiums, and we were often crammed onto stifling hot trains.
* Korea has the best fans. Thye sing non-stop, even when their team is behind, and each section of fans has a conductor who uses hand-signals to coordinate their cheers. Each song has a dance that goes along with it. It was mesmerizing to watch.
* U.S. fans have arrived. No Europeans expected us to show up, but we encountered Americans everywhere. U.S. merchandise was sold out at many souvenir stores. Before and during games, we were loud, passionate and impressive. Our fans have joined the world’s game.
* U.S. Soccer has a long way to go. Did the referees hurt us? Sure. But when it mattered, the United States couldn’t score or even put a shot on net. We certainly weren’t the worst team in the tournament, but we certainly aren’t among the elite either. We have four more years to figure it out.
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