Rustenburg
This is a shot from outside Royal Bafokeng Stadium just outside Rustenburg, South Africa. This was taken the night the U.S. was defeated by Ghana. It was a chilly night, the crowd was pretty pro-Ghana (although the U.S. did a nice job of representing), and the atmosphere was positively electric, but I have to say it--the stadium is a dump, and the security situation was a disorganized mess. It took us three hours to get in, and three hours to get out, and after a ridiculous bus ride back to Johannesburg, we didn't get back to our hotel until 5 A.M.
Soccer City
As much as I was disappointed with Rustenberg, I was blown away by Soccer City in Johannesburg. It's a palace. I took this picture the night of the Mexico-Argentina game. We just showed up and scalped some tickets for about $100 a head, and we were not disappointed. (Argentina beat Mexico 3-1). The stadium holds 80,000 plus, and will host the finals between Holland and Spain.
Ellis Park
Ellis Park is located right in the heart of Johannesburg, in a very scary neighborhood (although for reference, probably no worse than the neighborhood around the Chicago Stadium in the 1970s and 1980s). As you can see, we had tremendous seats for this game. Brazil beat Chile that night 3-0. What an honor to see such gifted players, and what an atmosphere. We sat right between a Brazil section and a Chile section, and they were singing and dancing all night. Lots of drums and vuvuzelas. (My sister wore ear plugs, but my hearing is shot anyway...it didn't really bother me.)
Cape Town
We saw the Germany-Argentina game here, and that was probably the highlight of our whole trip. The stadium was pristine, although it was a little chaotic going in and out of the place. Still, it overlooked one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen, and the Germans had their best game of the tournament. (Don't talk to me about yesterday...) We had to scalp tickets for this game, and we paid a little more than we wanted to (about $300), but it would have killed me to miss it.
I have to say this about the Argentinian fans. I hate to paint with a broad brush, but wow are they pushy and aggressive. They have a definite modus operandi. They push people out of their seats so they can form an Argentinian block, to make more noise for their team. I had heard rumors of this, but didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. Some Argentinian jerk actually pushed two ten year old kids out of their seats right next to me, and I stepped in to stop him. He started yelling and threatening me (as if I was the one being a dick), and the police had to come in and escort him out there. Over the next half hour or so, they stopped another thirty or so Argentinians from doing the same thing. It made the win extra sweet for me.
There was no question what team we were supporting. This is my sister Cindy, my brother Peter, and my cousin Martina wearing their Germany uniforms and face paint. It was the last game we saw live.
Tomorrow I'll share some pictures and stories from my safari.
