4 Years Ago...
...I was on a train back to Munich from Nürnberg during the 2002 World Cup Korea/Japan and the US squad was about to step on the pitch to face the German team in quarterfinal play. This was the farthest a US team had every made it in a World Cup and I had hoped to reach Munich before the match started but we were running a little behind schedule.
Suddenly, our train took a, what I thought to be, an unscheduled full stop, somewhere short of Munich. The train conductor informed all passengers that the Deutsche Bahn rail system would be halting for 2 hours. I instantly went into WTF mode...wait, our train or ALL trains? In fact, all trains came to a halt, along with the rest of the country while the German team took the field. Amazing, how a round, leather ball can bring Europe's largest economy to a screaching halt for 2 hours.
So everyone got out and walked into the main station's central point where, to my extreme delight, the US-Germany match was being projected onto a large screen! I soon found myself one among hundreds of people glued to the screen. I also found myself to be one of a very small contigency of Yanks supporters.
Long story short, Eddie Lewis was robbed of all glory and an equalizing goal in the second half - replays showed the German defender (intentional or not, a handball is a handball, Mr. Ref!) used his hand to deflect the ball off target - and the US was sent home packing with a 1-0 result to the eventual runner-ups in the 2002 World Cup. On the bright side US Soccer history had been made and no one would look forward to playing the US again - we had proven ourself on the biggest stage of them all.
Now, I had always followed the USMNT in friendlies, regional (CONCACAF) competitions, and of course, any World Cup action - but only on TV. So then and there, I decided that I was coming back to Germany four years later for the 2006 World Cup (Germany had already gotten the nod to play host in 2006) to support the Nats in person.
So, 4 years of planning have finally paid off: 60,000 SkyMiles saved from over 4 years of personal travel to get a free flight to Munich. 2 years of disciplined savings to pay for beer, I mean, intra-Germany travel and food. And 1 year of obsessively following the development of the World Cup ticket sales program which has yielded 6 confirmed match tickets and 1 conditional ticket should the US make it out of group play. Even as I sit here at Logan International during my 7 HOUR layover (apparently Delta shows no love for those cashing in on SkyMiles), I still can't believe that I'm heading over.
So for those of you that are following me on my journey, here are some logistical information for you:
June 5th, 12 PM - Arrival in Munich aka M-town.
June 11th, 1 PM - Arrival in Düsseldorf 1 day prior to the US' opening match against the Czech Republic in nearby Gelsenkirchen (6PM, 12PM ET)
June 15th, TBD AM - Arrival in Hamburg for the Costa Rica-Ecuador match (gotta support your CONCACAF neighbors!) (3PM, 9AM ET)
June 15th/16th, TBD - Return to M-town
June 17th, TBD AM - Arrival in Kaiserslautern for the USA-Italy match (9Pm, 3PM ET)
June 18th, TBD Early AM - Arrival back in M-town for the Brasil-Australia match (6PM, 3PM ET)
June 21st, 9PM - Ivory Coast-Serbia match in Munich (9PM, 3PM ET). Don't ask, I got the nosebleeds. Plus, seeing Drogba in action is at least worth the price of the "obstructed view" category of tickets I got :)
June 22nd, TBD AM - Arrival in Nürnberg for the final group play match for the US, versus Ghana (4PM, 10AM ET)
Now, I am going to try my hardest to post entries and pics daily, but no promises. Give me a shout on Skype (paulhbeavers) if you see me online, would love to here from everyone.
Mad ups to my peeps who are hookin' a brother up with a roof over my head while I'm there:
Thomas, Charlton, Timo, and Bernd - I owe you all!
Holla,
Paul
Suddenly, our train took a, what I thought to be, an unscheduled full stop, somewhere short of Munich. The train conductor informed all passengers that the Deutsche Bahn rail system would be halting for 2 hours. I instantly went into WTF mode...wait, our train or ALL trains? In fact, all trains came to a halt, along with the rest of the country while the German team took the field. Amazing, how a round, leather ball can bring Europe's largest economy to a screaching halt for 2 hours.
So everyone got out and walked into the main station's central point where, to my extreme delight, the US-Germany match was being projected onto a large screen! I soon found myself one among hundreds of people glued to the screen. I also found myself to be one of a very small contigency of Yanks supporters.
Long story short, Eddie Lewis was robbed of all glory and an equalizing goal in the second half - replays showed the German defender (intentional or not, a handball is a handball, Mr. Ref!) used his hand to deflect the ball off target - and the US was sent home packing with a 1-0 result to the eventual runner-ups in the 2002 World Cup. On the bright side US Soccer history had been made and no one would look forward to playing the US again - we had proven ourself on the biggest stage of them all.
Now, I had always followed the USMNT in friendlies, regional (CONCACAF) competitions, and of course, any World Cup action - but only on TV. So then and there, I decided that I was coming back to Germany four years later for the 2006 World Cup (Germany had already gotten the nod to play host in 2006) to support the Nats in person.
So, 4 years of planning have finally paid off: 60,000 SkyMiles saved from over 4 years of personal travel to get a free flight to Munich. 2 years of disciplined savings to pay for beer, I mean, intra-Germany travel and food. And 1 year of obsessively following the development of the World Cup ticket sales program which has yielded 6 confirmed match tickets and 1 conditional ticket should the US make it out of group play. Even as I sit here at Logan International during my 7 HOUR layover (apparently Delta shows no love for those cashing in on SkyMiles), I still can't believe that I'm heading over.
So for those of you that are following me on my journey, here are some logistical information for you:
June 5th, 12 PM - Arrival in Munich aka M-town.
June 11th, 1 PM - Arrival in Düsseldorf 1 day prior to the US' opening match against the Czech Republic in nearby Gelsenkirchen (6PM, 12PM ET)
June 15th, TBD AM - Arrival in Hamburg for the Costa Rica-Ecuador match (gotta support your CONCACAF neighbors!) (3PM, 9AM ET)
June 15th/16th, TBD - Return to M-town
June 17th, TBD AM - Arrival in Kaiserslautern for the USA-Italy match (9Pm, 3PM ET)
June 18th, TBD Early AM - Arrival back in M-town for the Brasil-Australia match (6PM, 3PM ET)
June 21st, 9PM - Ivory Coast-Serbia match in Munich (9PM, 3PM ET). Don't ask, I got the nosebleeds. Plus, seeing Drogba in action is at least worth the price of the "obstructed view" category of tickets I got :)
June 22nd, TBD AM - Arrival in Nürnberg for the final group play match for the US, versus Ghana (4PM, 10AM ET)
Now, I am going to try my hardest to post entries and pics daily, but no promises. Give me a shout on Skype (paulhbeavers) if you see me online, would love to here from everyone.
Mad ups to my peeps who are hookin' a brother up with a roof over my head while I'm there:
Thomas, Charlton, Timo, and Bernd - I owe you all!
Holla,
Paul
posted by Paul B at Sunday, June 04, 2006
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