Rage Against the Dying of the Light

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Ukutula

Today was a non stop fun crazy day.. i know i have a little bit more game blogging to do but i thought i would just blog about today! We woke up at 7 and started getting ready to go out as it was our last real day in South Africa! The plan was to go to the Lion Park called Ukutula which is translated Quiet Place. Before we left, we realized that Dan lost his bank card in the ATM the night before! oops.. it was the middle of the night so there wasn't a whole lot we could do besides to try and cancel online.. we went to the park anyways after we kinda got it under control and got lost like 6 times.. freakin south afrikans are not good with directions.. or the fact that it was the middle of nowhere with windy twisty roads.. the cool thing about the lion park was it was like 30 bucks to play with lions for the day! we got to play w 2 month old cubs and hold and feed them! haha it was crazy.. it is amazing that for only being 2 months old how strong and wild they are! we also got to play with 6 month old cubs and they are like the size of labs and so strong and are always looking to get in trouble! in the wild, lions eat cheetahs.. however, there was a year old female cheetah that literally took the lion cubs as her own and just loved on them.. it was one of the craziest things i have seen! we then got to walk around the rest of the park and see some of the most beautiful white lions you have ever seen.. they specialize in breeding the white lions and they are so crazy looking.. so cool. in fact, 5 cubs were born the night before and momma lion was a little on edge and when dan and i got too close to the fence, she charged us with a full on roar and hiss except much scarier than you can ever imagine even with a 10,000 volt fence in front of us.. you dont understand how big and strong and majestic they are until you are 3 feet away with its teeth showing! oh man..

anyways, got to see a friend i havent seen in forever, got my dad another orange hat which he will love cuz its neon orange! came back and am now writing the blog! coming back tomorrow.. should i change the name of this blog???

Kaapstad!

Dan, Cammi and I are in Cape Town right now. It is seriously the most beautiful and chill city you will ever go to. We got here yesterday morning and immediately was thrown into the mix as we went to eat lunch in the middle of CT at a place that serves literally every form of food east of the Mediterranean. It was really cool though because it was very diverse but everyone was very friendly. Morgan and I got to catch up which was real cool!

A little background on Morgan is he grew up in San Diego and played for Surf growing up. He is a year older than I and we went to school at APU together for 3 years. He is a solid guy with a heart for God and Soccer. Originally, he came to Cape Town to play for a professional team called Ajax Cape Town (which is a shoot off and feeder team for Ajax Amsterdam. Several players like Benny McCarthy, Grant Igesund, Steven Pienaar have come from Ajax Cape Town as well as Cameroon international Eyong.) He played for Ajax for 2 years before being loaned out to the team that I played for when I was here called Ikapa Sporting. They tried to sell him to a team in Joburg but he didn't want to go so he quit and is now living in Cape Town. He has a gigantic smile and an attitude that draws people to him. He is now working as a fit model for Woolworths (equiv would be Sears or Nordstroms) and also is starting a Football Club called Khayelitsha United in one of the townships here in Cape Town called Khayelitsha. He has brought it from no teams to 3 teams U-13, U15, and U-17 Boys. He has gotten Umbro to sponsor it and has more worth than it did a year ago! The goal of the project is to get these boys out of extreme poverty and gangs to hopefully either play professionally or into a University somewhere. They are looking to partner with other club teams in the states to hopefully make this happen!

(The website is http://www.freewayfootball.org/)

After we dropped off our stuff at Morgan's house (the guy we are staying with... my gk in college), we went to the fan park and got some scarfs for presents back home as well as watched part of the Brasil/Portugal game (which was the worst game of the world cup till the next spain/chile game which was worse but at least there were goals!). We went out to eat at a place called greens and sat ironically next to another american family with 3 boys. The parents were asking questions about what we did and how long we were staying. When they found out that Morgan is an ex pro and that I played as well, the questions were never ending! haha, morgy and I just laughed and had fun with it. We went back to the flatt and went to sleep.. it was a long day! I was definitely excited for the next day! Go US!

Footie Live Truth (Part 1)

I have had the opportunity to watch a lot of soccer on tv and I think it is funny how easy the pros make it seem. I mean anybody can trap a ball off their chest and side volley it into the roof of the net on a dead sprint on tv... and make it look easy while doing it.. right??? Well I got to go watch two games so far and I have been impressed with both for different reasons.

1) USA Vs Slovenia
The game wasn't the best game I have ever seen as the US dug themselves into a 2-0 halftime hole. In the first half, you could see them fighting with each other and bickering. It was almost as if you could sense that it was game over. However, they came out firing as Landon Donovan put one into the roof of the net early in the second half. They kept chasing the game and working together. I loved the fighting spirit as Bradley pulled the game even with his hard work and determination. Finally, the US was so very unlucky to not have won the game as Josy scored the winning goal and the crowd go crazy only to have the referee call it back on an invisible foul.

The point is not the referee but rather how the US fought itself away from elimination and kept its Cup hopes alive. For those of you who are at home watching the game wondering what the heck is going on, you have to realize that it is much different than what you see on TV. It is much louder, more volatile, and much faster than you ever imagined. You only see portions of the field while watching it on TV. You only ball watch. However, when you watch it live, you see the whole picture as the play develops. These guys that they are playing against are world class players. They are big, strong, fast and they play in pro leagues around the world. We are a very young and for the most part inexperienced team that is playing with a lot of fight and spunk. We have come back on a very experienced England squad and also come back from two goals down against a very solid Slovenia squad.

I am sure you have heard how some players are complaining about the ball. Well let me tell you, that ball explodes off the players feet. IT IS A DREAM FOR PLAYERS AND IT IS A NIGHTMARE FOR KEEPERS! The fields are pristine and very slick! The stadiums are packed and extremely loud thanks to the Vuvuzelas. I have been to both Ellis Park and Soccer City and when the fans coordinate the Vuvas together, it is a massive sound wall that almost goes beyond what the ears can take. I can't even hear the players trying to communicate on the field much less the referees whistle! The weather itself is a factor! Did you know it is winter here??? At 830 at night, it is 30 degrees outside! While I am bundled under 5 layers of clothing plus a blanket, they are in shorts and maybe an under armour! The elevation is around 7000 feet! You try running around for 90 at a breakneck pace at that elevation with your nerves going crazy as the world watches you... Think of the most stressful situation you have ever been in and multiply is by 50 and then maybe you can understand the stress and importance and challenge and the demands that the US has to deal with at the world's largest and most celebrated tournament!

When I hear that we (the US) do certain things wrong or that certain players don't deserve to be there, I think they don't understand the pressure and the time and effort it took to get there in the first place. I am sure that it is equally if not more frustrating for them because they want to do the US proud. They want to succeed and show themselves worthy. When you play on an international level, you do not get to train with your team everyday as you would a club team. There are certain times that they get to play together and train. It is difficult to bring a team together that are all sold out on a style of play, that get along, that play for each other in such a short period of time. Coach Bradley has put us into a position to go through in a very difficult group! It is simple, if we win... we go through!

My point of this whole banter is to try and show that it is much different here. Between the other teams, the referees, the ball, the crowds, the fields, the travel, the elevation, the sound, and even the weather, there is so much for them to overcome! Let's all get together as we want them to do and support them! The eyes of the world are on them! We need to hold them up!

Differences... Day 2

There is an 9 hour difference between here and Arizona. The first day we finally go to shower and catch up on sleep a bit. When you have been traveling for 2 days and have long layovers in several cities, it is amazing that a shower is what makes all the difference. We got up and went to a picnic with all of Marco's friends. We played an hour of soccer.. the teams were a bit skewed as Cammi and I's team lost... We stopped for a while to eat.. And that is where we realized that we didn't have any food.. All three American's were not worried but the South Afrikan, Marco was a bit distressed. There were 25 other people there and as soon as we sat down, they shoved food in our face... in a good way ;-). Everybody shared everything that they had. There was no talk of money or paying back. It was very chill and honestly, it is what caught us off guard. First of all, in the states, I feel like when you do something for someone, people keep score or tally what is owed. It was not the case. South Afrika has much more of a community feel than the US. I mean, honestly, when is the last time you went to a park and had a picnic and played a game of pickup whatever. It was such an awesome feeling. People here I feel are much more open and inviting than back home. People want to share. Everybody brings stuff and if you forget to bring something, it really bothers them that they didn't. As opposed to the states, we are much more possession oriented. We like what is ours and don't like other people taking what is "Mine."

We had a blast with all the our new friends we met. In fact, later that night before the Bafana Bafana game, we played a couple of group games that were very fun. We played a game called 30 seconds which is a combination of charades, taboo, pictionary, and hand puppets. It was a blast. Then the Amerikans stepped in and taught them the classic game of spoons. If you don't know how to play, you aren't a true Amerikan... jk. It is a game where intensity, sacrifice, and passion is encouraged, required, and necessary for success. Needless to say that there were a few injuries! Your's truly placed 1st and 3rd and now has a broken arm... jk... We left the flatt and went to the fan park called sandton for the Bafana Bafana game. We arrived and there was at least 5000 fans/people from all over the world. Dan and I immediately started taking pictures with anyone that wanted to take one! There was air of celebration! The South Afrikans were so proud to be hosting the first Afrikan World Cup. Fans were cheering, dancing, singing, blowing the vuvuzelas, waving flags, sharing drinks... Just celebrating! It was an amazing feeling. "Ke Nako" means "It is Here" and yes.. It was. There was only 2 things wrong with the night... It was balls cold... 25 degrees in fact. And the Bafana Bafana team could not score a goal to save their lives and lost 3-0 to the dismay and tears of the crowd. Other than that, it was amazing!!!

The feeling of a World Cup. The Aura of the greats past. The rising of the new. The tears of joy... The tears of pain. The pride of playing for ones country. The shame in failing. Incredible