Lebewohl deutschland, helden noch in meinen augen

Cape Town jou lekka ding - things heat up on the parade before the Spain - Germany Semi.

Brazilian men. in dresses. with funny underwear/
Saw one woman who wanted a picture of the well dressed boys, and when he whipped this lil fellow out she gasped and put her hand in front of her little girl's eyes;)

Yeah Baby.
The Grand Parade is your staduim, in Cape Town we dont Ole, we Ayoba...
SAPS on the look out.

Third place. again.

Captain Deutschland agrees with the Octapus when he says he had a bad feeling about the Spain - Germany game. I should have known, when he showed up without his hat, that this had stirred a slightly different gees in Germany's biggest fan.

The parade was a live and cooking, and like sussie said to me when we just arrived there

- i love how everyone is so happy -

We danced to the sound of klopse and shook our asses (mine draped in a Germany scarf) while singing "Stamp daai boude lam'' as the lights came on on the mountain and stunning city hall.

A Cape Town magic moment. I love this city.

The game was tense, but on the night Spain was the better team, and as heartbreaking as that goal and those last few minutes was,

the German dream was ended as the Spanish marched on 'to what A calls, the final of the virgins.'

Neither team has ever won it, so I will sit back and enjoy what is sure to be an entertaining final to this very successful world cup'.

Like the Times said today - South Africa is the real winner today, as we have proved all our critics wrong, showed all the pessimists on their noses and swept away all doubt that we can do anything we put our collective minds to.

Viva Mzansi, I am VERY proud.

And last night the German's also made me proud as they kicked some Uruguayan ass, and took bronze in a very entertaining 5 goal third place play off.

We watched at the Apartment (adidas 3 stories) after the Bin exhibition, but read more about that later.

Sad German fans at Kimberley Hotel after the game (love the ears love)

The day of the Germans.

This big day was well planned out. It too would run with German precision.

We assembled and started with breakfast (and a castle light – JUST because it was only R10 with any breakfast) at Beleza, after which we proceeded to park cars at my house and walk down to the fan park, like a well organised German army led by our kitted out captain. (except for the one named Adolf, ironically, who got delaed by an Argentinean fan and showed up later)

By the time we found our spot, “South African Lager” in hand there was still 2hours to go and the place was already PACKED>

So we got to watch the live entertainment. The build up to the game gave us theamazing Vuvuzela Orchestra (biiig fail, they can be glad they picked hits like Shosaloza and the SA National anthem (disgrace!) cause if the crowd wasn’t singing along enthusiastically I doubt you would have known what they wereplaying.

Other acts (slightly better) included Ice-cream and chocolate sticks (who opened with their hit MY CAPE TOWN – with the super cool, super local music video that my buddy My worked on...) as well as a speech by Danny Jordaan (what a legend) and other important people. Even the very popular Zakumi made an appearance (or 3), as we heard Waka Waka once again.

“Waka waka it’s time for Africa, oh oh oh oh oh - when i grow older I will be stronger...” seemed to be the constant sound track to the day...

And then the game kicked off, with nervous smiles on the painted faces around me. Never did we expect a four - null thumping.

After celebrating the 1^st goal, jumping up and down, spilling beer and taking out of focus pictures I saw this little boy was watching us with a sad face, i stopped in mid jump and smiled at him, and he gave me a sad smile back. Im sorry your team had to be so humiliated lil man. Stay strong ;)

The celebrations quickly got CRAZY and with every goal the men in black scored more German fans made their way over to our chaotic mosh pit part of the parade.

By the end of the game I was surrounded by Germans, and FIFA official photographers horded in to snap away at the magic celebrations...

What a game, what an outcome... My heart still pounded wildly by the time we settled in front of a friend’s TV with a glass of red wine to see who the opponent in the next game would be.

And all I have to say about that is that the Spanish will have to come with something a little more special if they want to beat the Deutsche Machine tonight.

Die Kaap is weer Hollands (an old Afrikaans saying, meaning the cape is Dutch again, referring to the early history of Cape Town when the Dutch and English took turns to rule the Cape) as last night my city was orange with Dutchies marching to the Final at Soccer City on Sunday.

A Dutch – German final would be a dream come true... touch wood, hold thumbs, and cheer your hearts out.

(i have some great images, just need to find a reliable internet connection... TIA... for now you can view them here)

BaGhana BaGhana...

Trying to blow them away...
Dancing for Ghana!
Let your light shine on!

GOOOOOAAAAAL!
Go Ghana, go ghana...
Beer in a bucket (still a rip off at R100 for 6 castles...)
Dirty dancemoves and fancy footwork... it had to happen!
GHANA> waka waka its time for Africa...
me and the wall of hope and dreams:)

Man this world cup is exciting.

In one weekend we said goodbye to everyone’s favourites (during Brazil's last game it sounded like the commentators had already GIVEN them the cup...), saw my Germans score FOUR goals in a game that everyone thought would be the tough one, and Spain marched on as predicted although they will have to pull up their socks if they want to get past the German efficiency tomorrow.

On Friday we postponed a planned sushi reunion dinner when we realised Africa's last hope was up against every South African's least favourite team - Uruguay.

So we marched into the dark smoky parking lot that doubles as the Mexican Shebeen. (Even though the Mexicans are long gone and the place was very much Dutch on Friday...)

What happened in the dark corners of the parking lot is where it gets interesting...

From girls in red, green and white cheerleading outfits, to R20 a castle (can!!!), to the greasy old man who asked me if i wanted another boyfriend, apparently I am so tall there is enough for two men...

I arrived JUST as the final whistle went and the crazy orange crowd started to celebrate. I had missed this historical match as I spent most of Friday in bed nursing a headache, and since i HAD to be at the Ghana game, i sacrificed the Dutch for an afternoon nap. When i got to Engen though, every petrol attendant and man on the street was gathered around the TV they have put up for the duration of the Cup. It was 2 – 1 to Holland, and my first sight of the game.

Of cause I immediately sms-ed H “looks like your team has 10mins to score or go home...”

But back at the shebeen, where everyone was getting ready to cheer on Ghana. Waka Waka – it’s time for Africa... And when the black stars scored on the call of the half time whistle we were all on the tables dancing.

(and i spilled my R20 beer in my lap...)

My Canadian couchsurfer must think these white African girls are crazy.

But what can we say – Ghana had it and they dropped it. Missing a penalty in the last seconds of the game is a give away, and while Kingson proved to be another WALL in defence, and everyone was on the edge of their seats...


but their penalty kicking just wasn’t good enough and the damn cheating Uruguayans marched on to a Semi with the Dutch.

The shebeen quickly ran empty as we raced through the streets looking for a midnight snack...

we had to get ready for THE BIG ONE>

What day is it!?!

The days start to blur together, as one moment a team celebrates a victory and an advance to the next round, only to pack their bags and make the trip home a few days later.

Having said goodbye to big names such as France and Italia before the 2^nd round could even begin and sending home the Americans and Britts on the 1^st weekend of round of 16 things are really starting to get exciting now.

Nadia went to the Netherlands Cameroon game at the CPT Stadium last week and left me an orange shirt with a note “in case you need something orange to wear tonight” – so naturally i once again put on an unflattering colour to support a team that wasn’t even mine to start with.

On Friday afternoon i went to Beleza (my home away from home) to support the Portuguese in their battle with Brazil (1stly because H had bet a 100 on the Brazilians and I am taking every chance I get to get him excited about soccer, so I thought a friendly rivalry on Friday was appropriate, and secondly because the brilliant people at Beleza are proud Portuguese supporters and I wanted to join them in the spirit.) It was almost a disastrous outing because owner Ron almost kicked me out thanks to my diss of the Italian team the day before. Touchy subject when your team is the defending champion – who goes home in the first round. I do apologise Ron, sometimes my excitement of silly things make me say the wrong thing. My veg curry was exceptionally hot on Friday eve, and i think we are now even...

The game was pretty boring, and i have nothing to say about a 0-0 draw... (yaaaawn!)

Saturday i decided to take a day off from soccer as i drove a single speed bike through the windy Woodstock to hand out free art in the papergirl initiative, awesome experience, read more here – and then took a drive to Stellenbosch to watch the boys skate at the son skate park.

Sunday was GERMAN day
– as the BIG match drew closer we made our maiden trip to the grand parade fan zone – what a brilliant experience... the place was packed with German and English fans and a lot of passionate South Africans. It was nice to see locals in Bafana shirts or with SA flags painted on their faces, supporting either the Germans or the English.

And what a game. Karma got back at the English as we saw the flipside of the events of the 1966 SWC final when a goal that clearly crossed the line wasn’t awarded. But the Germans crushed them either way: 4 – 1 is a win you can hardly argue with.

This was always gonna be my day to spend with my best mate, lets just call him K. A friend since high school days, this passionate German supporter has so much love and respect for his German team that he has swept up a whole bunch of mates, and we were all there dressed in our black, red and yellow to show our support. He had JUST returned with a fresh round of beers when Deutschland scored their 2^nd goal, and in our excitement we spilled half of it on a family in front of us. Luckily when Dad turned around he had a German flag on his cheek and quickly forgave us with a big smile! Lucky for us...

Today I will return to the fan park, in Nadia’s orange, to show some Dutch courage and support... It’s the tall men, and the fact that i kind of understand their silly language, that swings favour their way.
But my money is still on ze zermans at the end of the day, and i feel very good about that...

Waking up from a good dream, still smiling...

You know when you have a really amazing dream and then you wake up from it, to the real world, to the fact that you have to get up and go to work... But the dream was so nice that it makes your whole day easier to take on, you still go to work with a smile...

Well that is how i felt when our boys beat the French, even though it wasn’t enough to take them to the next round. The dream is over, but I am still glad i had it, and it has left me proud and smiling.

Yes Bafana is out of the World Cup and we all need to pick a ‘second team’ now – although i am sure most people had one from the start – but they boys did really well and made us all VERY proud to be South African. They played with all their hearts on Tuesday, they showed us all that they were willing to fight for it and we couldn’t really ask much more. If you had told me on the day of the draw earlier this year that we would win one, draw one and loose one to end 3^rd in group A i would have GLADLY taken that. We might be out and there might be fewer SA flags flying high on cars and apartment windows, but we are still in this in a major way – we are hosting this competition and it is only really starting now.

I have been receiving lots of praise from friends all over the world – saying what a stellar job we are doing at hosting this event. Even the Germans, who hosted one of the best in 2006, admit that we are on top form. Tourists love this country, as was evident when i rocked up at Waiting Room just after kick off in the USA - Algeria game yesterday.

I might have mentioned before that I have a couch surfer staying with me for the month. Nadia, a half German-half Dutch girlie who has lived in the USA for over 10 years is in SA to volunteer at a charity – where she has met many other American volunteers. So i went to watch the game with her, secretly wanting to shout for Algeria, as an African Hope... but when i walked into the room full of loud yanks, i kind of changed my mind. For 90 minutes i sat ready with my camera to capture the moment they score, because i knew it would be a passionate celebration. And for 90minutes my camera would turn itself off every time the Americans missed another shot at goal. They had many opportunities (and i don’t think the offside call on the 1^st half goal was correct) but after that they just could not find the target. The Algerian goalkeeper was on TOP form though and it was always going to be tough to get past him. There were many calls of F FIFA and shoot the ref – but when they eventually found the back of the net, in over time, the room erupted.


Shouts of U.S.A, U.S.A!!! U.S.A could be heard for a long time after the final whistle as they spilled out onto the balcony to announce their win to Long Street with the call of the vuvuzela.

This is really good for American Soccer (as i heard one guy say when we left – “a great day for America”) and i think if they take on soccer more seriously in the years following this world cup they will definitely become a force to be reckoned with.

And then it was time for my ‘other team’ to play another African hope. I made my position clear this time though - a Facebook status told the world (or at least my world of 297 friends) where my allegiance lies with the statement: Sorry Ghana, but this is my team, GO GERMANY...

I didn’t really get to watch the game as we had a meeting (another plan for world domination, watch this space) but kept an eye on the screen and was delighted with the results, my boys won, and Ghana still gets to carry the African hope forward... Win-win!

I even planned my outfit yesterday around my team – wore all black all day, but then added my red jacket and yellow bag, to look like a walking German flag...

This competition is only getting started, today Nadia goes to Cape Town stadium to watch the Netherlands (once again making me wish i had bought a ticket), and tomorrow two teams on top form take each other on in what will be one of the most exciting games of the tournament when Brazil plays Portugal.

I’ve put today aside to do some work – it has been way too much play and too little work lately – and I am not planning on leaving the house or turning on a TV today.

Here is to being proud hosts of this momentous tournament. PROST!

Deutschland UPSET(s me)...

And so for the first time since 1986 the Germans lost a game in the 1st round of the World Cup. There. It happened. A record almost as old as I am has been broken. To all those anti the Germans: Enjoy it, celebrate it and get over it.

I think it might just be the wake up call that will fire them on to take it (well I sure hope so, because I did bet H & G hundred bucks each that Deutschland will take the cup – H going for Brazil and G putting his money on the Argentineans)

I had dropped everything and left my proposal for a new client open on my laptop to go watch the lunchtime game with a friend called Adolf (I thought it was only appropriate).
But they weren’t on top form, and they just weren’t on target. Ever. Podolski was striking hard, but never on target, in what turned out to be a pretty average afternoon for him. Average until he missed the penalty, at which point it started to lean more towards poor...

On the other side of the field the –ovic gang (did you notice almost all the Serbian surnames ended in an –ovic, very entertaining for me, as I’ve taken a special interest in surnames from different parts of the world) put on a very dramatic show. While the yellow card ALMOST burned a whole in the ref’s pocket.

But to be fair, the Germans played with 10 men for most of the game, and to hold your line like that still shows great determination and skill.

Completely off the point is another thing that caught my attention. Every time I watch the game on SABC 1 I am greeted by a news desk filled with men (few of whom speak proper English) all dressed the same. At least on Friday it was a little better than that night they all wore little leopard print scarves under their buttoned up shirts...

And so the world cup of upsets and draws continue. I watched so much soccer this weekend that all the games and goals are starting to blend together. But I do know this: big up to the New Zealanders, it is interesting to think of the possibility of the defending champions might be on the first flight back to Italia...

Up the underdog... I love the unexpectedness. Now we just need to see Bafana cause an upset!

WHAT?

l

No i will be the first to admit that that performance by the bafana boys was poor. They looked sloppy, they were too static when they got the ball and the passing and defending man to man just wasn’t there. I will also gladly admit that i don’t really know the rules of football that well. Im a rugby kenner, and while i know when someone is offside and the basic ins and outs... i am not to sure about penalties in and around the goal box, but what happened there just did not seam right!!

Was it really fair to send Kuhne off? To red card our goalie and allow them a penalty kick? Wasnt their striker offside, which should have made all of that redundant? Would a yellow card and the penalty to the offending goalie not have been the better option?

Wow.

That blew my mind. And put me in an entirely negative space for the rest of the game. The competitive Arian in me just could not take it. I was screaming and swearing and insulting players. I am sorry nr 9, you probably didn’t deserve all the nasty things i said, but that (in my mind) unnecessary red card threw us completely off our game, took Pienaar out of the attack and signalled a wave of supporters leaving the stadium. I am as offended by that as by the blatant diving and bad acting from the Uruguay players.

I cant even remember anything else i wanted to blog.

We went to the Adidas venue but (since we first had planned to cook some soup and H took forever to get to my house with the ingredients) we were too late and the lounge was full. So we watched amongst a small but passionate crowd in the Word Of Art studio downstairs, where a massive TV on some crates, a makeshift bar, cardboard couches and a sloppy half time DJ set the scene.

You should go check it out, the pop up store has some dope adidas merch (H if i wasn’t unemployed and i had R850 i would buy you those high tops on the spot – they are sooo you!) the T-shirt exhibition is cool (but can we PLEASE see some fresh artists already – i KNOW FOR A FACT there are some really talented illustrators and artists in this city, but the galleries and clicks always show the same artists’ work and – while i won’t argue that there is some real talent in there – they do all have a very specific style – and to be frank, i am bored of it...) and I am sure it just gets better once you get into the actual 3 stories.

So tonight the call of the Vuvuzela is a little less frequent; the facebook statuses a little more disappointed and even the flags on cars seem to hang limp as the Cape Town wind hides her head in shame somewhere.

Back to the drawing board for Carlos and the boys, but all is not loss, and stranger things than miracles have happened in world cups before.

And hey this is an interesting country; a month ago the bulls played two games in Soweto, tonight Bafana Bafana played at Loftus... The times they really are a changing...

my dutch-german (living in america) flatmate for a month Nadia feeling the gees...