All things come to an end.

So Rachel and I have two more days here in Durban. We have met wonderful people, seen beautiful places, watched unbelievable soccer and can’t wait to come home to see family. This past weekend we took in the Portugal v. Brazil match on Friday night which was incredibly boring (except that we sat next to a man from Portugal who was hilarious. Please see the posted videos below for more information.). Saturday we had a romantic weekend at a vineyard (with no grape vines) further up the coast from Durban. We were right on the beach and it was so relaxing. Finally, today Rachel and I drove south down the coast to a beautiful gorge and game reserve where we saw giraffes, wilde beasts, spring boks, zebras and other animals. Pictures of all this will be in the next post. I also plan on doing a wrap up post.

So Saturday night the USA run for the World Cup came to an end. Again Ghana put us out of the tournament but this time it was a little bit later than four years ago. As expected our midfield was the only part of our team we felt confident it. We can not have a group of forwards that go scoreless for a World Cup and expect to advance to any decent stage. Unfortunately I feel that Bob Bradley has just coached his last match as head coach. I would be surprised if he is present for the match against Brazil in August. Also, farewell to Donovan. He will join Everton before their next campaign starts in August and if we are lucky he will play a few more matches for the Galaxy (actually if the Sounders are lucky he will not play any more matches for the Galaxy). I don't know if there is much more to say. We had an opportunity because Ghana did not play that well but it is what it is. Now we wait four more years. Unfortunately I feel that it will be a more difficult World Cup in Brazil.

Thanks for reading and enjoy my Portugese friend.

And the winner is…..

Not Italy.  Amazing they finished last in their group. Don’t worry y’all, I won’t shed any tears for them.

So anyway, the suggestions for the banner were,

1. “Hey Brazil-Get your own language.”

2.” Hey Portugal-Get your own style of waxing.”

3. Circle Me Bert

4. Tempo para Martelar

5. Where is Rhonaldino?

6. Whammy is the Winner

And we went with nobody’s.  Not even Rachel’s, kind of.  We are going to have a black and white banner that says,

“HAMMER TEMPO” on it.  We will be sitting in on of the corners.  It is actually the northwest corner but I do not think you will be able to tell on tv.  Our seats are on the second level, so it keep an eye out at the Portugal v. Brazil match today for “HAMMER TEMPO.”

Thanks for everyone’s participation.

On the Rebound

So after 90 minutes of close attempts and being robbed of our second fine goal…….GOAL!!!!  Thank you Landon for cleaning up the rebound.

So Rachel and I walked down to the pub we have established as home base and guess what…..all three of their tv’s are hooked up to the same channel and there were already some damn England fans watching that lame match.  So we walked to the next pub and again all three tv’s had to show the same match and of course there were England fans already watching.  To make a long story longer, we finally found a restaurant in a mall that resembles Chili’s or something.  I am so glad that the USA won and is moving on.  I would have been very disappointed if we did not advance but we had two goals taken from us.  But we don’t have to worry about that now.

On the topic of rebounds, Rachel, the resident great soccer mind, has been upset that no teams are cleaning up rebounds.  She and I both agree that the teams that do the best and getting rebounds and putting them back in the net will be the strongest.  If you think about it, the ball supposedly does not fly true, so keepers are trying to punch or block incoming balls rather than catch them.  That means more rebounds.  Every shot needs to be followed up by someone hoping to clean up.

Cheers and thanks for reading.  GO USA!!

Hammer Times Banner Contest (re-post)

Some of you may have missed this so I am re-posting it.

So for the Portugal v. Brazil match Rachel and I will be sitting close to the railing.  We have noticed that having a banner hang over the rail is a good way to be noticed on TV.  So here is the 1st Annual Hammer Times Banner Contest.  We are going to hang a banner at the Portugal v. Brazil match and we want your suggestions.  So if we have a better suggestion than Rachel’s, which was to write Hammer Time in Portuguese on the banner, we will put it on the banner.  Of course we will tell everyone what will be on the banner and hope that you look for us.

Looking forward to reading your suggestions.  We want you to put the suggestions in the comments section.  The deadline will be end of the USA v. Algeria match.

Happy Dad’s Day, Dads!!!

So even though we are thousands of miles away we still want to wish our fathers and those fathers that we know, a happy Father’s Day.  So Paul and Ralph, we love you very much and are so thankful you are our fathers.  Also, Rolf, Happy Father’s Day with a new one on the way.  Finally, Steve, this is your first Father’s Day, congratulations!! Cheers to you all.

Mother’s Garden Edition

So Rachel and I visited the Botanical Gardens here in Durban and took many pictures of some beautiful tropical flowers.  Both of us thought that our mothers would really enjoy seeing pictures of both beautiful flowers and their children.  Moms, here you go and we love you.

A monkey in a tree at the Botanical Gardens

Rachel in the Sunken Gardens

This is a floral exhibit that resembles the Moses Stadium in Durban

These are orchids in the Orchid House.

Rachel and I standing under the quintessential African tree, the Baobab tree.

USA v. Slovenia Match Recap

So can I even say rough match?  Maybe rough result.  I may regret this proclamation, like I regret the same proclamation I made walking out of the Kingdome after watching the Seahawks loose to the Jets in the NFL playoffs because of a touchdown awarded to Vinnie “I have no testes” Testiverti’s (I hope I butchered the spelling of that) helmet, but we need replay in the World Cup.  What a match.  I was obviously wrong about the USA not coming out in a match sluggish.  That was a terrible first 30 minutes.  I love him but I am hanging these two goals on Guch.  Twice he found himself in “no man’s land” and both times a goal was scored.  He did not play like himself.  I love you Guch but you got to step up against Algeria!!  This is the World Cup.  We can not sleep on any team.

On the other hand, we showed the that USA never gives up.  We played a second half that if we play that way for 90 minutes I feel that we can beat any team in the field.  That was the best soccer I have ever seen and we won that match.  I may have embarrassed Rachel a little due to my yelling in the pub we were in.  Of course I was the only USA supporter and it was a match where one might loose his voice (hypothetically speaking of course).

Finally, we all knew how poor England was.  I think England might have just registered the worst performance in the Cup but I am really happy with the result.  Now we need to go in to the Algeria match and win decisively to show our true colors.  Our future in in our own hands.

Hammer Times Banner Contest

Some may have missed this so I am re-posting it.

So for the Portugal v. Brazil match Rachel and I will be sitting close to the railing.  We have noticed that having a banner hang over the rail is a good way to be noticed on TV.  So here is the 1st Annual Hammer Times Banner Contest.  We are going to hang a banner at the Portugal v. Brazil match and we want your suggestions.  So if we have a better suggestion than Rachel’s, which was to write Hammer Time in Portuguese on the banner, we will put it on the banner.  Of course we will tell everyone what will be on the banner and hope that you look for us.

Looking forward to reading your suggestions.  We want you to put the suggestions in the comments section.  The deadline will be end of the USA v. Algeria match.

Picture Edition

 

These three pictures above are all of the Doctor’s Quarters here at McCord Hospital and the yard outside.  Look tropical but does not feel so tropical at the moment.

This is Wors Rolls and Lager.  Basically Brats and beer.

Rachel at the beach in Durban.  The slogan for Durban is “The Warmest Place in 2010.”  Some days are fairly warm and others are fairly cold.

A panoramic picture showing how close the city (on the right side of the picture) is to the beach.

These are some Spain fans.

 

Another Spain fan.

Some Switzerland fans.

Panoramic of KP at Fan Fest which is a big screen on the beach that shows all the matches.

More of Fan Fest on a beautiful day.

A beautiful woman on a beautiful beach on a beautiful day.  What more could the photographer ask for?

KP and Rachel standing in front of the stadium in Durban.

A panoramic shot of inside the stadium.

 

A shot during the match.  The camera does not do justice to our seats.  They were better than the picture shows.

These pictures are great because it is of a 73 year old grandfather playing cricket with his two grandchildren in the rain at the park.  There was only three of them so I did some shagging of balls too.  It was fun to watch until I was soaking wet.

The People We Meet

My favorite part of traveling is meeting new people.  We have had that opportunity here and we would like to share with you some of the people we have met and the impact they have had on us.

First of all there is Momma Onnie.  Momma Onnie is the house mother here at the Doctor’s Quarters at McCord Hospital.  We see her every morning and since I am around the quarters more than Rachel is I see her changing people’s sheets, and getting more blankets for the nights when it is cool.  She has been wonderful.  She gets a bit of attitude, understandably, when people leave messes but she really cares for everyone who comes through the quarters.  In her office there are hundreds of pictures of her and different doctors that have come through as well as pictures that seem to be keeping her up to date on everyone as their lives continue.

Then there was Mark.  Mark was a guy who was hosting a tailgating gathering before the USA v. England match in the Phokeng East park n’ ride.  As soon as we walked up to the group with our USA gear on he offered us Castle lager and Wors Rolls (Brats).  He was very kind and generous towards us.

Next we met two brothers in line to get some lager (beer) at the Germany v. Australia match.  It was just great to have conversation with them for the 20 or so minutes we had with them in line.  Unfortunately we did not get their names but they were exceptionally nice.  One of the brothers was living in Jo’burg currently and was taking a trip to the US in a few months.  Just good people.

I told you a bit about Essazk, the man who pick Rachel and I up before the Spain v. Switzerland match.  He deserves more credit and further acknowledgement for his Good Samaritan like act.  We hope to call him up later in the week and have a pint with him to repay him for his deed.  He would be someone we would like to stay in touch with.  Thanks again Essazk.

Later that day at the Spain v. Switzerland match we sat next to a number of people who we also sat next to at the Germany v. Australia match.  It was kind of eerie the fact that all of us had bought multiple tickets to matches in Durban and we were all seated together.  We will see if this trend continues.  One of the guys we met was a really nice guy from Tualitin, OR.  His name was Will and again we had a great conversation.  Sounds like he and his female companion had seen as much as there was to see in South Africa in 3 weeks.

Finally there is Michael.  So yesterday I found a great pub called La Bella.  Good lager, good tvs , free wi-fi and good people.   We are going to head there in a few hours to see the USA v. Slovenia match.  Anyway, while I was there yesterday trying to finish up some work, a young mate came over and started watching Argentina v. South Korea.  It was really nice to chat with him.  We talked about soccer, rugby, how neither of us know what was happening in cricket, American football, basketball, how his favorite time in school is lunch break and much more.  It made my week to have the opportunity to talk with Michael.  Here is the funny story that goes with Michael.  So Michael has a bit of a stutter.  Some things he says are a bit hard to understand.  So after talking with him for about an hour I ask him what his name is.  At this point there are only employees of the bar around and I got the idea that they all knew him.  So when I asked him his name all I got was, “Mi…(stutter, stutter, stutter)…L".”  So I asked him again thinking I would get a stutterless name the next time.  Nope, the exact same thing.  Thank the Lord I deciphered his name the second time because I did not want to have him repeat it again and neither did he or anyone else in the room.  So his name is Michael.

The people we meet throughout life.  Cheers.

Angels of Youth Day

I would like to post today about a national holiday here that occurred yesterday. So yesterday was Youth Day. What could that be? Well in 1976 a few young students in Soweto decided to stand up against the Apartheid government and so they organized a march. Someone told us a bit about Youth Day and stated that this is thought of as the beginning of the end of the Apartheid government. Amazing the power of the youth. Please research this because I know I do not have all the facts and I am sure it is a good thing to know about. I am going to do some research as well and maybe come with another post but I think this would be a good holiday to start commemorating. June 16^th 1976.

To commemorate it this year we were assisted by some local residents who were concerned with our safety. On a beautiful June day, Rachel and I thought we would walk to one of the street markets in town, buy some souvenirs and then continue to the Spain v. Switzerland match. So as we were walking, we had to come down off the hill that the hospital we are staying at is located. Once we got off the hill we are pretty much downtown. We had to take out our map to ensure we were going the right direction when a man in a handyman truck stops next to us and asks, “Are you alright? Do you need help finding somewhere? Where are you going?” We stated we were going to the Victoria street market and he replied, “Just go that way to the traffic light there and turn right. That will get you there.” We said thank you and were on our way. We got about five steps when an Audi pulled up next to us and said just about the same thing. But this time the driver stopped short and said how about you just get in the car and I will give you a ride there. That is when I figured we were getting into an area that we did not want to be. Essazk Adams, a life long resident of Durban, was our angel for the day. Something we did not think about but that Essazk made us aware of, was the fact that since it was a holiday, the police visibility was going to be less until match time. We also did not realize that the street market was pretty much closed on the holiday as well. And finally our map did not give us a good idea how far of a walk the market was.

So Essazk Adams, we are very thankful for your willingness to help some stupid American tourists out. I hope we have a chance to repay you in the future.

This is such a great example of how much South Africa wants to give a great impression to the whole world. Rachel and I have had a great time so far here in Durban. It is a beautiful city and country.

Cheers until tomorrow.

Spain v. Switzerland Match Recap

I was so excited to go to this match, Spain v. Switzerland. Good match but not what I expected or what anyone expected. Spain had the exact opposite approach than Brazil. Brazil had a lot of possession but would be to the edge of the penalty area and put a shot on that would not really be close. They probably had 20 shots and 2 on target in the first half. Conversely, Spain also had a lot of possession but would pass around the edge of the penalty area or even at midfield and then the ball would be stolen. Switzerland is probably a little better than Paraguay but come on Spain. I am really not that up set because now Spain is feeling the heat and hopefully their next two matches will be really exciting. We shall see. There were tons of Spain fans at the match. Pictures to follow.

Here is my question from the match that I would love to hear comments about. Where was Fabregas? Why didn’t he play? Navas over Fabregas? He wears the number 10. Everyone raves about him. Barcalona is pushing and pushing to try and take him from Arsenal. And what does he get? Rides the pine better than Tim and myself combined. (Sorry Tim. Thought you would get a laugh out of this since we spent so much time together on the bench.) Please Fabregas, stay with Arsenal where you are respected. Don’t move to Barca just to sit on the bench with a coat on like you do for Spain. We love you at Arsenal. You are our Captain.

Ohhh Captain,

My Captain.

Please lead Arsenal with your mighty left foot!!

Cheers

Germany v. Australia Match Recap

So I know Jeremy and Andreas are waiting for me to say this and I know that everyone else is thinking it but Germany has played the strongest football yet. Wow, what a show they put on.

Going into the match I felt that the match was a 60-40 in the favor of Germany. I did not feel that they were playing so well with Ballack out and then the recent loss of their keeper. I also felt that Australia, while traditionally average, was playing a bit better than they had in the past.

Was I wrong or what? The score could have been 6-0. What else do I say? Germany does look to be the favorite right now if we are going on quality of play but this is a long tournament. A lot can happen. I think we need to save our true judgments for after the group stage and see who we have to work with.

One question that I have is, I have heard from many people here that if you watched the Germany v. Australia match on tv, Australia played really dirty. Of course there was the red card and I felt at game speed without a replay was very warranted but others said that there were many challenges that were too aggressive and the whole match from Australia was dirty. Did anyone else feel that way? I would like to watch the match on tv maybe when we get home to see. Please comment and let me know what you think.

Cheers y’all.

USA v. England Match Recap

So like I said before, I had a great recap of the USA v. England match but it was lost. So I am going to try and recreate it but it will not be as good.

I hope that everyone saw the USA v. England match and at least one person recorded the match so that Rachel and I can watch it later. By now y’all probably have formulated your own opinion of the match and probably do not care what I think but in the true spirit of blogging I am going to post it anyway.

First of all I was very surprise at how nervous the USA was at the start of play. In our most recent friendly matches and our performance in the Confederation’s Cup I felt that we had built up a lot of confidence. I know that this was a big stage that the USA players and fans were not used to, the English fans were well prepared with many banners and flags and the players were ready to capitalize on any missed defensive opportunity. I solely attribute the English goal to this nervousness rather than being ill-prepared or playing a better team.

On the other hand, what do I say about Greene, the English keeper? The biggest fear for the English fans going into this match was Greene. If the two goals from this match were direct exploits of each teams weakest link, which I believe they were, USA’s weakest link being our lack of experience on big stages and England’s being one decent defender in John Terry and the worst keeper in all of the World Cup finals, I would be worried if I were English. I do not think we will see any more “nervous” play from the USA.

Man of the Match. No doubt in any one’s mind that Tim Howard was Man of the Match. Besides his multiple, I think 6 unbelievable saves that he made and the rib injury that he back from, I saw something else that I would like to state for the record. In the first few minutes of play, as I have stated, the USA was nervous and did not push up and pressure England when they were in the box. Right after the goal Tim, not yelling but in a very direct voice, told something to the players that were standing right around him. What he said I do not know but I do know that it was direct and with authority. It was also quite prolonged. Sometimes you see keepers yelling a ridiculous amount at their defenders and usually these are the average to below average keepers. You never see Cech or Vander Sar exploding into a rampage. I think because Tim Howard kept his cool he shows the characteristics of continuing to develop into a great keeper.

Now for some real analysis.

Defense. The first 10 minutes were inexcusable. The last 80 were at times rock solid and at other times average. Demeritt and Onyewu did a fabulous job on Peter “I look like a” Crotch (Crouch) and anyone else who came up the middle. Bocanegra was non-existent and needs to step up as a captain more.

Midfield. Also had an inexcusable first 10 minutes. The middle 55 minutes were excellent. Bradley and ….can think of his name right now but another midfielder….. did a great job on Frodo Baggins (Wayne Rooney). Donovan did not have the break out match like I thought he would. I would like to see him be more visible and threatening next match. Clark had quite a few poor passes and I felt like he played the poorest.

Forwards. What if Jozi would have put that in the back of the net? What a great drive by Altidore!!! I feel that the forwards were very strong. I like starting Findley. I think he is doing well but I feel that Buddle could have come on earlier. I think he came on in the 75^th minute and Findley stopped being effective long before that. Buddle or Gomes should come in the 65^th minute next match. Just my opinion Bob!!

Thanks for reading. Cheers.

Still a new Blogger

So I had a huge, USA v. England match recap all typed up, pushed publish and.......... the internet was out and I lost it all. Crap. So I will get the recaps posted later tonight. Sorry. Cheers.

Picture Post

Here are some of our pictures. Enjoy!!

This picture and the next few are for J. Jones and Andreas. We were sitting in the German section for the Germany v. Australia match. There was a lot of cheering since Germany put a 4-0 hurt on Australia.

This is both Germany and Australia on the pitch during the national anthems with a good perspective of the new stadium in Durban. This is the first match ever in this stadium. Beautiful!

Both teams marching out on to the pitch.

A panoramic of the whole stadium.

A picture of the most beautiful woman in the whole 62,000 spectator crowd. The man she is married to is soooooooooo lucky.

Rachel posing in front of the new stadium before we went in. Apparently there is a tram that goes up the arched supports behind Rachel and tourists can pay 50 rand (about $7) to take a ride. We are thinking about doing it because the view is supposed to be amazing.

Rachel and I after the USA v. England match. This is the only picture we took because we were videoing most of the match. (Party Foul-I have been looking for the charger for our video camera which was 99% sure I packed but it looks like I did not. So I might not be able to post the video from that match until we get back to the States. I will take video with my phone from this point out and post that. Sorry y'all.)

This is our room in Durban. A bit small but its only a safe place to lay our heads.

A big group of South Africans huddled around a tv in the airport watching the inaugural match between South Africa and Mexico.

This is Customs in South Africa. This dog was running all over the baggage at baggage claim smelling everything. That was the extent of it. As we were leaving we were asked by an official how many cigarettes we had but nothing more than that.

The big World Cup poster we saw as soon as we got off the plane in Durban.

A panoramic view of Dubia International Airport. This is one of their park like areas in the airport.

Me in the park area. (I had had about 6 hours of sleep over the past three days at this point.)

Guess what Rachel found? She has a Starbucks radar. This is Starbucks in Dubai. Interesting sign. I think we calculated that drip coffee was $7 here. Starbucks in good but not that good.

Two of 10 or 12 flight attendants on our first Emirates flight. They were from all over the world, both male and female and very helpful.

Rachel getting on our 14 hour flight from NYC to Dubai.