"USA!" he yelled. "USA!"
World Cup 2006: Wandering Europe
SNAPSHOTS:
1. Paris et Les Invalides
2. Zidane, Ribery, et le Trocadero at Midnight
3. Aller a Strasbourg
4. The Autobahn and the Art of Happiness
5. What Happened in Berlin
6. My Birthday: Berlin in Summer
7. Back in the Thick of It: Ghana v USA
8. Sam's Army, Cognitive Dissonance, and Facepaint
9. Born in the USA
11. And our best player left the field on a stretcher.
12. We watched happily as the scores of passing Ghanai...
 Noemie Cheers |
It was noncontroversial between Noemie and me that the Ghanaian fans were cooler, more stylish, more interesting, more musical, and more attractive than the American fans. Who would argue? She had even suggested she was secretly pulling for them; I replied that that was fine so long as she didn't mind if I pulled for Togo in France's big match the following day. She smiled. That was out of the question. On her right, a tall, loud, beer-swilling young patriot from Tennessee in a bright red shirt, green cut-off shorts, a week of stubble, and a long blue do-rag began chanting.
"USA!" he yelled. "USA!"
The match began. Kick off. Would the U.S. advance into the Round of 16 or unceremoniously depart the continent? My eyes were glued to the field. Would we come out with the flat disinterest we showed in the woeful Czech match or with the heroic confidence and vigor of the Italian match?