Gelsenkirchen, Germany

World Cup Match US vs. Czech Republic (12 June 2006)

Here I am in the sea of red Czech Republic supporters. Many people have asked whether I feared being the one white shirt routing for the US in the thousands and thousands (literally) of Czech supporters. I wish. One can only be fearful if defeat of thy enemy is a possibility. They scored 5 minutes into the game and never looked back. We lost 3-0. They have a seriously great team - ranked 2nd in the world. Had a blast at the game, though. Had lots of beer and bretzels (yes, this is the German name for you know what) and hung out with my German colleague, Ingo. Afterward we went to Dusseldorf to a local drinking place to drink many more local beers, eat bratwurst and watch more games on TV. We drank by the river in Dusseldorf until 1:00. Home at 1:30. Up at 5:40 to catch my flight back to London. No, I'll never learn;-)

Next match is Saturday against Italy. We have to win to keep the dream alive. On the other hand England is already through to the next round. It helps to have two teams to support!