The first game

So, we set out in good spirits rather early (9:30) in the morning in order to figure out where to park for our afternoon (1:30) game.

After a few minutes on the highway, we hit soccer traffic. The Argentinians were present en masse, some of them sober, most of them not.

After waiting a good 30 minutes, we noticed a crazy person sticking her head out of a Benz two vehicles ahead of us, only to realize that it was Liz!

Once we got closer to the exit ramp, we were told by the three police officers regulating the 25,000 fans on that side, that we needed a parking pass, only available another 40 miles away. Liz and Buff decided to walk the rest of the way. Since we couldn't abandon our rental right there, and haul the kids for miles on end, we decided to look for alternative parking. The girls' driver then proceeded to ask me if he could follow us, since he didn't know where to go, which I found slightly odd...

We essentially turned around and made our way closer to the stadium, only to be stopped by another two cops, this time regulating traffic for 20,000.

We then drove by the DeBeers compound, and noticed some parking space. After inquiring with the local Lexus Security reps (the other security companies have names like Stallion, Pegas, etc...), we parked, walked to the main road, where we hitched a ride from a shuttle.

Soccer City is an impressive structure. It can hold more than 94,000 fans. The first thing we noticed was the sheer size of that mammoth. The crowds were also very disciplined, unlike at some of the games we have attended in Chicago or elsewhere.

It was no problem getting in. We were hungry, so we had hotdogs, chicken sandwiches, biltong (look it up), and the only beverages allowed, Coke and Budweiser. Some crazy stuff.

We had great seats. There was nobody behind us, so it was no problem getting up and getting rowdy. Oh, and those annoying horn things you hear during the games, they're called vuvuzelas, and they were originally buffalo horns. If you think they are loud on TV, when more than 80,000 midly inebriated fans get at it, it gets loud.

Watching the game itself was nothing short of magic, and it was great to watch those amazing players (chuyong, Messi, Tevez) play 'live'.

Returning to the car was another adventure, filled with railroads crossings, ditch crossings, and the occasional trespassing. And let's not forget meeting two of the six other Ethiopians at the game.

We are ridiculously pumped about tomorrow's game.

Mathieu