tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102410272024-03-18T22:46:55.511-05:00The Barstool ProphetCMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-90613969751953240202014-10-07T10:57:00.000-05:002015-02-05T11:45:19.320-06:00
And so it begins...again.
What we are doing is something that we have made it a point to do every four years. We do it because The World Cup is an experience like no other, an event that you MUST be a part of to fully understand.
In 1994 Brett and I were sitting in his apartment in Edwards, CO watching the US vs Brazil play their 2nd round game in LA when we made the decision to go to CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-19299455395995156602014-07-10T12:52:00.001-05:002015-01-27T17:29:56.759-06:00A lesson in Surrealism Day 3Today we face Germany to decide our fate in the group. When I awake it is to the sound of rain. Not just any rain though. It's the kind of rain that makes you wonder if a boat with giraffes is about to cruise past the window. This poses a problem because, true to FIFA form, the stadium is so far out in the middle of nowhere that just getting to the gates is a half-day ordeal, and we have the CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-11691416572422030182014-07-08T19:01:00.001-05:002015-01-27T16:18:27.383-06:00Surrealism- Round DeuxDay 2-
I am told that our first full day in Recife will be spent on the beach with some well deserved R&R. This sounds like a pretty good plan considering that by this point most of us are running on empty. The World Cup is a marathon of epic proportions.
A van has been chartered to take us to the best beach in Recife, and one that doesn't have a record number of shark attacks. SharksCMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-72490721305533302812014-07-03T21:49:00.001-05:002015-01-27T17:28:05.032-06:00Salvador Dali must be from RecifeI say this because Recife is to become responsible for some of the most surreal days of my life.
As I write this I am on a bus from Recife to Salvador. We will drive south for the next 12 hours, through the night and arrive at approximately 8am. Hopefully.
***
When Brett and I left Manaus we were the final 2 of our group to do so. German and Kieran left on a 2 am flight. ClintCMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-48198499545900706082014-06-26T19:16:00.001-05:002014-07-08T18:43:05.453-05:00A cab sent from heavenOr hell, depends on who is telling the story.
We have just dismbarked our boat after an early morning trip into the amazon and we have decided that a definite must see during our time in Manaus is the Fan Fest during a Brazil game. I have been lucky enough to see the host nation play, in stadium, only twice. In Korea and Germany. Because of the atmosphere, there is absolutely nothing quite like CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-57017740049357259022014-06-26T19:10:00.001-05:002014-07-01T05:22:45.114-05:00NatalOne of the nice parts about the World Cup is that it brings together the finest people from around the world. Okay maybe thats a bit of a stretch. But it does bring a lot of people from all over, right smack dab into one anothers immediate proximity. That usually lends itself to some funny shit.German and I decided we would test the nightlife of Natal our first full day in. After dinner, the restCMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-10901442649358019982014-06-22T06:56:00.001-05:002015-01-27T17:29:01.626-06:00US vs Ghana and a lost ticketOnce we arrive at the stadium we see that the gates are running smoothly and that we have over an hour until kick-off so we make our way around the outside in order to find a place we can buy some beers and avoid paying the usual stadium mark-up. We find a nice little place with outside seating, falafels, pastry's and beer. As we sit and watch the area begin to fill the excitement is beginning toCMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-91403357291879118522014-06-20T09:17:00.000-05:002014-06-22T07:34:17.074-05:00No hands! Be a man.One of the things that I heard more than normal during the buildup to this Cup was how dangerous Brazil is, and how it was absolutely necessary that we be overly cautious. The dangers involved in events like this are always there and it is prudent to have a certain attention of your surroundings. But it is also a very good idea to try keep the boogyman in the closet. There is a very intense CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-63894552375030497062014-06-19T11:24:00.002-05:002014-06-19T11:27:19.705-05:00The year of the Cat.So our 1st full day here in Natal, as we waited for Brett to arrive in his taxi from Recife, (that story a bit later) we decided to hit the streets and find the FIFA ticketing center. The walk from our apartment to the Ciudad Jardim, a little strip mall with shops selling the usual mall fare in 3 colors; yellow, blue and green is probably about 4 miles. Along this path we found the roads were CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-29954584772640272852010-06-27T08:28:00.003-05:002014-10-07T10:51:34.881-05:00Red meat and a Shebeen!
One of the crazy things about the World Cup is the emotional roller coaster that every fan is taken on from the very beginning. It doesn't matter who you are a fan of- the USA, Ghana, Mexico, England- Germany might not counted in this because of the ice that seems to run through their veins- okay that's a joke, but seriously I sometimes wonder. Honestly though, I CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-7969731195550055852010-06-24T11:55:00.008-05:002010-06-24T12:01:27.905-05:00The Yanks went marching in...Is there a word that can be used to describe the feeling that I, along with the hundreds of people in my immediate vicinity, felt last night when Timmy, Landon, Jozi, and Clint teamed up to score a goal that could very well go down as one of the most important goals in US Soccer history? I would like to say "speechless" but that wouldn't be quite accurate, we screamed until&CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-90527845972551442912010-06-23T01:53:00.001-05:002010-06-23T03:00:44.999-05:00A little catching up!In all there really aren't a lot of differences between the people we know and talk to everyday back home and the people we have met here. But, this of course comes as no surprise. People are people. They may not speak the same language all of the time but that doesn't change the fact that wherever you are from you can't be mad when you're laughing and it is CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-69187329390295248322010-06-20T05:21:00.001-05:002014-10-07T10:45:19.286-05:00Revenge of the Zela!
The past couple of days have been a bit of a blur. We went on what was possibly the coldest imaginable African Safari, then to Sun City- a Vegas style oasis of gambling and hotels for some lunch and a game. Jim, Ryan and German all won a little cash while the rest of us just loitered around and commented on the number of pregnant women we saw hanging out in casinos which just so CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-26661754792982605762010-06-17T16:57:00.002-05:002010-06-18T01:48:00.863-05:00A day worth remembering!This morning like most others we are all slowly doing our own thing. Brett and Ryan have gone down to the ticketing center at the Brooklyn mall in hopes of securing some tickets to today’s Denmark/ Netherlands game at the flagship stadium in Jo-burg, Soccer City. While Jim and Corey lay in their rooms, Clint and German type on their computers, I write.
Not yet knowing what today will hold I CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-64580923706674361672010-06-13T05:57:00.002-05:002010-06-14T12:50:31.459-05:00US vs. England 1-1, and the new luxury vehicle - “Elephante”!Below is the picture of our group just prior to taking off for the game in Rustenburg.
Upon departure, as you can see, the sun was shining and the temperature was in the upper 60’s to low 70’s. So we left with long sleeves and high hopes, and that would become something we will be sure to remedy the next time we leave the house for any evening jaunts into the African wild. It got cold!
So off CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-82544543741052739252010-06-04T12:40:00.004-05:002010-06-07T14:56:45.582-05:00Years become mere hours!I am here at my desk trying to bring the disaster that it is into some order so that I can leave without those dreaded little nagging thoughts that there was something left undone. "I know I forgot something!" When that thought creeps in you can be pretty sure that you will not figure out what it is that you've neglected until the moment you are faced with that which it would have fixed. "Sir, CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-1152656347631342562006-07-11T17:17:00.000-05:002006-07-11T17:24:04.793-05:00CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-1151577512873678972006-06-29T04:50:00.001-05:002010-03-25T14:02:00.898-05:00Encased meat dietWe awake the day of the Ghana game after an evening of relative calm. We've been in Nuremburg for 3 days and have proven that man can live on beers and bratwurst alone. This diet though does not come without some very real side effects, or more accurately "inside affects". But with Jenny Craig as my witness I could eat 2 of those tasty little meat veeners and 5 minutes later catch a whiff of the CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-1151506646802854682006-06-28T09:33:00.001-05:002010-03-25T14:40:22.040-05:00Just what we needed~Us vs ItaliaThe evening was not yet done. We took seats near the corner flag as the crowd dispersed. The final whistle long since blown. We discussed what was to be, what must happen for our boys to advance. We laughed at the site of the linesman receiving his beer shower as the cups from disgruntled fans rained down in disapproval of his decisions. Just a sliver of American Hooliganism. Myself, Brett, CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-1151497716917846642006-06-28T06:40:00.001-05:002010-03-25T14:36:47.027-05:00Better late than never? US vs Italia...We set out for the stadium thinking we could walk right back towards the train station, and up to the gates... We were mistaken. We found that our section was actually on the opposite, elevated side. Now perhaps this is something I am overly sensitive to, but without car or bike, all roads seem to lead uphill. We climbed; someone would begin a chant which started strong, and ended mercifully. CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-1151084005625765682006-06-23T12:26:00.001-05:002010-03-25T14:28:20.004-05:00Worth a 1000 wordsWell I guess this sums it up, found on Rueters. Thats Brett in the foreground, for those that don't already know the guy. Our 3rd World Cup on foreign soil, and as of yet, no trophy. But, if and when the US wins the Cup, you can bet we'll be there!I'll keep putting the journal entries on the blog, even though the team is out. Still have a couple of games to talk about. Savings account # CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-1151013756142595742006-06-22T16:25:00.001-05:002010-03-25T14:26:17.789-05:00Old news6/18 on train to Nuremburg:Last nights game is the reason for our mixed emotions. We are still in the hunt, though some cards have to fall in our favor. Regardless, we must win big against Ghana. We took the SBhan from Heidelburg to K-town early for a 9 pm game and it turned out to be a good thing we did. The train filled fast and continued to do so the rest of the day. Pulling into the station CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-1151010377242638632006-06-22T16:05:00.001-05:002010-03-25T14:22:23.871-05:00Stuck in my headI am tired.We leave Heidelberg with mixed emotions. But, I have my own seat on the train, which is golden for those not familiar with train travel. To share foot space AND arm space can make a long ride all the longer. To top it all off, seems as though I've picked a space near the Iranian Poveratti. I do not know the words he sings but it seems as though he doesn`t know the whole song because heCMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-1150718531968183982006-06-19T07:00:00.000-05:002006-06-20T07:28:43.456-05:00Some old photos This is Skate and I after the 1/4 final loss to Germany.Skate and I again outside a stadium in Korea. Brett, German, and I outside another stadium in Korea.When we start getting some pics downloaded from this trip I will post them.Met a reporter from the Ventura County Star after the Czech match. He didn't have the greatest grammer or spelling, nor did he quote me exact, but I made it into the CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10241027.post-1150536682547906602006-06-17T04:19:00.001-05:002010-03-25T14:19:30.069-05:00Wake the Giant!Today we walk headlong into our fate. We enter into this evening as fans with questions on our minds. Which team will show up tonight? The team that, as of late, has been vey strong regardless of the competion, or the team that we saw play the opening game of the World Cup? I can only hope it is not the latter. We came this far from home with the knowledge that with a group like ours we could CMWhitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14791483206147099729noreply@blogger.com1