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Living the Vicarious World Cup Dream

Experiencing the World Cup in Germany is a completely different level of soccer satisfaction than glueing oneself to a TV for weeks on end.

Johnny G., a friend of a friend of mine and all-American soccer fanatic, is living the soccer dream and blogging from Germany about the World Cup. Peek into the European borders to catch a glimpse of life on the road at a world sporting event with Johnny G.

Sunday, 18 June 2006
Italy 1 -1 US
I just got back to Geneva after what feels like 24 hours on trains. Omigosh! But what fun! Anders, Eugie and her friend Mahmet are awesome travel partners. We started drinking wine as soon as we got on the train yesterday and emptied four bottles before we got to our first stop. We played cribbage all afternoon and picnicked on bread and ham and cheese -- and wine. Actually, we slowed considerably. The third train was jam packed and we just didn't deal with the wine. The game was awesome! Did you watch? I'm sure most of America is looking at a 1-1 tie and thinking "where is the scoring?" But the game was way more exciting than any sports event I've ever witnessed. The crowd was on its feet for the entire game, chanting, clapping, cheering, whistling, booing. It was electric. I started losing my voice in the first 30 minutes. I relied on my whistle for the rest of the game, except when it really counted. That final 30 minutes were a complete emotional drain. Hoping -- praying to the soccer gods -- for the US to prevail. 1-1 isn't a win, but it felt like it. And because of the surprise result in the other game in our group yesterday (Ghana 2-0 Czech Republic) we still have a real fighting chance. We have to beat Ghana and we need some help in the other game (Italy/Czech Republic). Stranger things have happened in the world of soccer...

Johnny goes on about his post-game celebration and return to Geneva, summarizing the journey with this:

Now it's a beautiful June morning in Geneva, and I need to take a nap.