Bittersweet is probably the best word to describe the Côte d'Ivoire/Brasil game. It was amazing to be at this game, in this beautiful stadium. The stadium at Soccer City is supposed to look like a calabash, and the layout pretty much allows a great view from anywhere. Despite the over-representation of Brasil fans (I'm convinced Lula bought out this game for nationals), the atmosphere was all kinds of fun. I guess I should ease up on the complaints though - Côte d'Ivoire could have played England and I could have gotten a beer bottle cracked over my head for screaming Elephants in some hooligans face. The stadium was packed to capacity - 85,000 fans, 84,500 of which supported Brasil. On the walk up to the stadium, Molly and I (fully decked out in Côte d'Ivoire gear) must have been stopped by at least 20 people, who wanted to take our picture. The reasons being (1) Two girls attending a soccer match by themselves seemed out of place and (2) Anyone not supporting Brasil stood out like a sore thumb. Can I also mention the fact that this a World Cup in South Africa and maybe one or two of the vendors actually had Côte d'Ivoire gear (WHAT?!?!?!). I was trying really hard to find a big ol Elephant hat and all I saw was Samba Kings b.s.
We managed to find another group of Côte d'Ivoire supporters (from the US), increasing our numbers to 5. As a group we managed to attract two camera crews. The first - a Brasilian crew, strategically placed Molly and I in the center of the guys, and proceeded to ask the 3 guys their names and reasons for not supporting Brasil, while Molly and I were ignored. Of course, this infuriated me and I nearly hissed at the camera man after. So when the next camera crew, South African based, approached us, my body language must have commanded attention because the camera man came straight to me. And I proceeded to profess my undying love for the Toure brothers, Drogba, Kalou and Eboue, while talking some randomness about supporting all the African teams.
That's the man with the plan - DROGBA! I'm sure everyone can recognize the drip perm from miles away! At the game we met up with Molly's counsins (Tim and Brian and Ashley). Kedenard managed to find us as well - I think because the bright orange was easy to spot in the sea of green.
The game itself had us on the edge of our seats. I don't think I moved for 10 minutes after Fabiano scored his first goal. And the second was worse - I must have screamed every profanity known to man when Fabiano got away with that handball. Even the hardcore Brasil fan sitting next to me turned to me and acknowledged that foul play. Watching the Elephants slowly go down was the most painful game yet. And it's much easier to hide your pain in the privacy of your home, compared to a stadium packed with fans cheering for the opposing team. The only redemption came in Drogba's header at the end. When the whistle blew at the end of 93 minutes, I actually cried. The thought of South Africa hosting the first World Cup on African soil and not having a single African team move forward was too much for me to handle. And yes - I realize how corny that statement sounded, but I stand by it. And after this I'll go back to being an Arsenal supporter - I swear you cannot call yourself a fan unless you are constantly in a state of pain (excuse the Man U/Real Madrid/Brasil fans). At this point, all I can say is Go Black Stars!
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