When I learned the Women's World Cup was being held in Germany this summer I inquired into tickets. To be honest I was only interested in seeing the USA play or possibly Brazil. All the USA group stage matches were already sold out so I looked into the later knockout stage games. There were tickets available to both quarterfinals matches that the USA could end up playing in (depending if they won or finished second in their group). The women's US team being the only team to finish in the top three in all five women's World Cups and one of the favorites to win this edition of the tournament looked like a good lock to win their group. As a result I went with the game in Augsburg where I expected them to play. Disappointingly, the USA lost to Sweden last Wednesday. As a result I got stuck watching a Sweden-Australia women's World Cup match each of whom have really no certifiable women's soccer stars...to be honest I was less than enthused, especially since I no longer had the opportunity to ask Hope Solo out on a date after the game. In any case, I went to the game today which turned out to be exciting with 4 total goals (Sweden 3 - Australia 1). I'm watching the USA - Brazil game on TV right now and so far it has been a far more sloppy game with fewer goal chances so maybe I lucked out some.
Edit: Nevermind. The USA - Brazil game is a lot more exciting than the one I went to.
The women's World Cup in contrast to the men's in South Africa last summer didn't have quite the intensity or fervor surrounding it. The stadium was on the outskirts of Augsburg, seemingly in the middle of no where. In comparison to Africa though it was a breeze to find, with no confusion at all. The game was a sellout of ~25,000 fans so it was a little more intimate than some of the games last summer much more like a Galaxy game. Most of the fans seemed to be from Germany with no more than 100 in each of the teams fan club areas. As a result the fans didn't have a vested interest in either team so everyone cheered whenever someone got close to scoring. Also, the German fans were the most organized and enthused about starting the wave in the stadium I've ever seen. And there were no vuvuzelas! It was quiet in comparison in a good way. In general the fans just seemed plain nice.
Sweden did the hokie pokie after each goal they scored.
Although the game was in Augsburg, I'm staying in Munich; a 35 minute train ride away. Yesterday there was a large Gay Pride festival in the main square with concerts, bratwursts, and lots of beer. Of course I ate two foot long sausages. Later in the afternoon I stopped by the Haufbrau Haus to get some of the famed Bavarian beer. The Haufbrau is a public beer hall that was first started in the 1500s and they sell their beer in liter mugs. It is one of the most famed drinking places in the world now so it was well worth the stop. I can only imagine what this place is like during Ocktoberfest.
Awesome sausage grill.
It is unbelievably awesome during Oktoberfest. I see a group pilgrimage in our collective futures some day. GO USA!
ReplyDeleteSucks you didn't get to see the USA game. What an unbelievable finish! Where did you watch it at? If it was out somewhere, what was the reaction of the German crowd?
ReplyDeleteLauren, I can imagine it's pretty wild. It would definitely be something I would consider at some point.
ReplyDeleteJesse, I just watched at the hostel bar. It was already a largely pro US crowd, but all the other people joined in for sure. All the Germans I talked to later in the night were pretty happy to see the US win....at least that's what they told me.