June 18 - USA v. Slovenia

Today we decided to set out early for Ellis Park to watch the USA in a critical match with Slovenia. Early meant leaving for a 4 o'clock game at around 12:30. When we arrived at the Park and Walk at Athlone Boys High School at around 1:30, we donned all of our ultra-patriotic gear and marched in to the stadium.

Most of the fans we saw at that point were USA supporters. We even saw such luminaries as George Washington, Elvis and Captain America on their way in to support the boys in Red, White, and Blue. One of the best parts of the walk in was getting lots of love from fellow San Francisco Giants fans as I was wearing my Giants hat.

While we were taking the 25-30 minute walk from the parking lot to the stadium, we stopped at what was either a nursery school or grade school where they were having a braai (or BBQ) to raise money. There were a great deal of USA supporters in there already, so we stopped in and had some Carling Black Label beer and boerewors to tide us over for the match. It's a bit strange to be in a preschool with barbed wire all over the perimeter, but the place had a right good atmosphere so we enjoyed our short stay there.

planting the US flag at a preschool in Johannesburg. Note the barbed wire

Having satisfied our appetites, we cruised in to the stadium. On the way in, we happened upon a group of little South African kids enthusiastically chanting "USA, USA, USA." People here have been very supportive of the United States, and the children we meet seem genuinely thrilled to see people from the USA. The kids were so cute that we had to stop and take a picture.

Joe with some young USA fans

Inside the gates to the stadium was pretty wild. There was a really good atmosphere for the match, with lots of energetic Americans and lots of really drunk Slovenians. The Slovenians we did encounter outside the stadium were nothing if not friendly (maybe overly so), so we expected a good time in the stadium.

outside Ellis Park pre-match with the US flag

Joe with some Slovenians that were ready to party

When we got to our seats, we had a much different experience with our Slovenian counterparts. There was a massive amount of Slovenian fans in our section, including some in all of our seats. At first, they were determined not to move from our seats, one even remarking to us "Why must you be so imperialistic?" when we asked for our seats back. When the four Slovenians in our seats finally relented, there were still a massive number of Slovenians in and around us, and most of them left their best manners at the gates to Ellis Park.

our seats at Ellis Park to watch USA/Slovenia

In the first half, not only did we have to deal with a row of angry Slovenians just in front of us who were the only people in our whole section that wouldn't sit down, we had to stomach the USA defending sloppily and being passed off the park by the Slovenians on their way to a 2-0 halftime deficit. It was a disheartening half, and one that only added fuel to the raging inferno that was our Slovenian buddies just in front of us.

Thankfully, the second half would prove to be much different. The USA came out with much greater intent, and almost immediately there was an excitement in the air that comes with the promise of an intense 45 minutes of football. When Landon Donovan took advantage of the Slovenian right back's mistake and went on to beat the 'keeper top shelf from right on the goal line, all the USA fans erupted. With plenty of game left and the momentum on our side, we were sure we would get an equalizer. And equalize we did, as Jozy Altidore headed down a long pass into the path of the onrushing Michael Bradley, who again beat the Slovenian 'keeper over his head. 2-2 and the celebrations were euphoric. In front of us, I saw one of our Slovenian nemeses go falling as if he were pushed, and braced myself for some sort of brawl. Luckily, that never materialized, but things were certainly edgy at this point.

As the USA were roaring back to life on the field, the USA fans in the stand were all anticipating a go-ahead goal. From a set-piece that took place away from our side of the field (while our seats were still good, all the goals were scored on the other side of the field), Jozy Altidore smashed one into the back of the net to give the USA an apparent 3-2 lead. We all went ballistic until I caught a glimpse of one of our Slovenian buddies in front of us waving his finger to let us know the goal had been disallowed. Upon seeing the replay on TV later that night, it's clear that the USA had a perfectly good goal disallowed and the referee will not say what he disallowed the goal for. There has been talk of a FIFA probe on the Malian referee, a man by the name of Coulibaly. In any case, he ended up costing the USA two points as the game would end in a 2-2 draw. The good news is that the USA control their destiny after a dismal England performance saw them draw 0-0 with Algeria in Cape Town. England were much maligned in the press for their performance. If the USA beat Algeria, then they are through to the knockout stages no matter what.

the England team was thrashed in the media for their dreadful performance against Algeria in Cape Town

After the match, I met up with Russ Lathrop, an EVS operator (like myself) who is here in Johannesburg working, but had time to catch the USA match in his time off. Russ is a great guy, and he is also blogging while here at the World Cup. You can read his blog at: randomrustyrambles.blogspot.com


On our way back to the car, we passed two young girls in the street chanting "USA." I stopped to give them high-fives, and one of the girls asked me for my flag. Knowing I didn't need the hassle of carrying my flag anymore as we were done attending USA matches, I obliged. The girls gleefully ran off into the night with the flag, continuing to chant "USA." I hope that little girl holds on to Old Glory and cherishes it for a long time, but another part of me figures she's already sold it for 50 Rand.