Updated: Culp Reports Live from South Africa

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Matt Culp, GoLocalProv Sports Contributor

My Weekend in South Africa

Friday was a very long day for me

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with the culmination being the England vs Algeria game. Most of my day was spent walking around Cape Town and sightseeing. England and Algeria fans were out in full effect waving their flags and showing their countries' colors. There were definitely more English fans than Algeria fans but the Desert Foxes evened it all out by showing more spirit. Each country had their own way of supporting their team leading up to the game. Algeria would parade around in smalls groups singing and dancing while the English would pack into the bars, guzzle beers, and chant to England. However, it was somewhat surprising to me that whenever opposing fans came in contact with each other it was nothing but love.

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I ended up watching the US vs Slovenia game in a restaurant, and to me this was the game of the tournament so far in regards to excitement. My group was sitting next to some Algeria fans that claimed they were rooting for us. As usual, the game did not start out well for the US giving up a quick goal and eventually a second in the first half. The Algeria fans were quite disappointed with us but we still had faith in our team. We knew they weren't going to quit. Landon Donovan's goal at the start of the second half re-energized the team and we knew it was game. After the second US goal the Algeria fans were our friends again. After the third goal (which all US fans are wondering why it was not allowed), I think I hurt myself in celebration. What a comeback!

Recap - England vs Algeria: As I walked to the stadium I felt chills run down my spine as the vuvuzelas were sounding off, including mine that I purchased on the street. It is a beautiful stadium and as I walked in you knew whose house it was: England's.

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Flags and banners surrounded the stadium supporting the motherland and unbelievably their chants drowned out the vuvuzelas. As far as game play it wasn't the most exciting match to watch. Wayne Rooney got the most love every time he touched the ball, as the volume elevated with excitement in the stadium. It was interesting to watch the attitude of the English throughout the match. At the start their team was the greatest thing in the world but toward the end the English fans were shouting very mean things at their heroes on the pitch. Quite amusing.

As for Algeria they were just happy to be there. I am not the most astute football fan but I actually thought Algeria did a better job than England at passing and possessing the ball when they had their chance. England has all these great stars but they just seemed to lack the creativity you need in the final third to score a goal. The final score was nil to nil and not my predicted outcome but this result helps the US so I will take it.

Saturday and Sunday were spent exploring the numerous sites of Cape Town. The morning after the game, on Saturday, was very quiet compared to the day before. Algerian fans were out and about, but the English fans were nowhere to be seen. Guess they didn’t want to show their faces after the disappointing result from the night before. I went to some great places like Kirstenbosch, a huge botanical garden. I then went to the largest bird park in Africa and saw a hundreds of different exotic birds and other animals.

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I also explored Robben Island and took the cable car to the top of Table Mountain. Robben Island was where Nelson Mandela was jailed with other political prisoners during apartheid. This is also where the political prisoners began a football league that played during the weekends. The creation of this league was a small piece of freedom for the prisoners and helped influence the end of apartheid. Table Mountain was absolutely breathtaking! While waiting in line for the cable car up we had a discussion with a few Englishmen. Obviously they weren’t happy over their poor game play the other night and told me a story of a supporter, and regular ticket holder, who found their way into the locker room. The “fan” told the players that he had paid good money for the ticket and that their performance wasn’t worth the money. Apparently the players had nothing to say.

My stay in Cape Town is coming to an end and I will be heading up the coast towards Port Elizabeth and Durban. The upcoming game I will be seeing live is Portugal vs Brazil on the 25^th in Durban. Brazil is pretty much through and will be without Kaka (red card) so I’m not so sure it will be the Brazil that dazzled the first two games. We shall see. Make sure to check back to GoLocalProv as I continue my updates from Port Elizabeth and Durban.

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