A win everywhere but on the scoreboard

(Originally published June 12 on freep.com)

Somewhere near RUSTENBERG, South Africa -- A tie is always a win for someone.

This may the hardest thing for Americans to get about soccer -- that a draw (as ties are often called) can matter so much.

As we rode in a bus crawling through traffic back to Johannesburg, we found ourselves wondering if Americans back home are as excited as the thousands of USA fans like us who watched the game live in Rustenberg.

There aren't many wins in my history as a sports fan that have excited us as much as today's draw in the USA vs. England match.

It's been a long day. Rustenberg is in the middle of nowhere. The ride is along a pleasant road through rolling hills that was never meant to handle the traffic load of a World Cup match.

So, our bus left at 11 a.m. for a city that should be about 2.5 hours away. Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m.

It's slow going, but Amy was strangely excited when we stopped for gas to find that Tab, the soft drink, was on sale here.

We arrived around 4:30. The stadium itself is surrounded by a village. The parking shuttles dropped us off just at the edge of the town and we had to wander through its neighborhoods to get to the stadium entrance. Many of the locals sat in their yards, observing the parade of American and English fans marching by. Many smiled or wished us luck.

The stadium didn't open its doors for another hour, but hundreds of fans gathered in the nearby streets, flooding two local bars. One of the establishments had an outdoor urinal trough, where men could relieve themselves with their backs clearly visible from the street.

We looked at souvenir stands and picked up some ear plugs. One of our guides had warned us that the omnipresent South African horns, the vuvuzela, could overpower our ears.

There was some polite jawing between U.S. and English fans, but nothing serious.

Fans had already formed a huge line as the doors opened. We squeezed into the stadium. It was already noisy with the barking horns. Fans of England sang "God Save the Queen." Chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A" sprang up here and there, but we weren't too outnumbered by the English. U.S. flags were everywhere. The sun was setting quickly and the temperature dropped.

For refreshments we endured another crushing line -- this one clogged up by English fans who had somehow built themselves a giant beer bong -- Amy came away with lamb dogs for us to chow on as we waited for the game.

As the game started, the Americans were almost as loud as the English (although I think they had more of those horns on their side). Nearly everyone in the stadium stood for the entire match.

U.S. fans deflated when, for the second straight World Cup, they gave up an early goal right away.

The only consolation: The two big scoreboards in the stadium weren't working, so the score wasn't looming over us. I used the stopwatch on my phone to keep track of how game time elapsed.

The crowd exploded when American Clint Dempsey scored on a lucky goal that bounced off England's keeper, Robert Green. Beer flew in the air, spraying down on us.

As the game wore on and England pressed for a winning goal, both sides quieted, almost holding their breath.

In the end, it was the Americans who exhaled, cheering wildly -- knowing that despite the score, they were the day's winners.

The U.S. players marched over to us and cheered their fans. Both the team and their supporters came a long way today.