First and foremost, I'd like to send a shout out to Christian Zaccardo of the Italian team. Thanks a lot for the goal, without you, team USA wouldn't have a chance of advancing.
Vielen danke, Christian.
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I felt courageous yesterday and ventured downtown (by train, of course) to the World Cup celebration. To sum it up, I have just one wordOhmygoodness!!!!
There were SO many people there. I've been to Oktoberfest and the Bad Durkheim Wine Fest (two of the biggest), but neither compare to the festivities downtown.
Here are a few photos from my little stroll:
This is the main area, the Fan Fest area:
On a stretch of road called Fan Mile (imagine the Epcot Center at Disneyworld stretched for a mile), many countries and vendors had their own tents, selling food and souvenirs. The Trinidad and Tobago team was represented by a tent that didn't sell food or drink, but instead, they blasted the team song from speakers. Fans of all teams were stopping by and dancing, and having a wonderful time (this was my favorite tent).
GO SOCA WARRIORS!!
This picture is from a tent selling something in relation to 'Wacky Tobacky' or 'Wacky Weed'. I'm not sure what they were actually selling, but when I passed the tent, I noticed that 'military' looking folks were avoiding it like the plague (I'm sure Uncle LeRoy was staking it out).
The Ultimate Fan (not the guy in the Italy wig)...
These two guys had a wonderful idea...they labeled their balcony above Fan Mile the 'First Official World Cup Balcony. They even yelled down and told someone that they could rent it for the evening during the US/Italy match for 500 euro for the prime real estate. What a deal.
The US flag was everywhere. There is an official protocal regarding the presentation of the US flag, and I'm sure that it does not include wearing it like a cape to gain superhere status:
or wearing it like a skirt. Patriotism at it's best:
The balloon maker's hat is a replica of the World Cup trophy, made of balloons:
The next game here in Kaiserslautern will be Trinidad and Tobago against Paraguay on Tuesday. The movers will pick up some of my furniture that day, but if they finish early enough, P and I will go down to the festivities.
: 4:35 AM
