Day 15 (June 22nd)

Well, on to Nuremberg from Frankfurt for the USA game. Another mix up over the train schedules, so we got separated from Ivan and Dean, but luckily the stadium was pretty convenient (and close) so it wasn’t a problem. Nuremberg’s inner wall city was interesting.
The USA fans were sporting lots of fun outfits and we were all happy to join in the fun.
Daniel’s hair/look was the best, but we all looked great! At the beer garden just before the stadium, we added our final touches.
We had some leftover hair color, so Kate got conned into decorating a couple of strangers, too. The fans seemed ready – would the team be?
Well, as you probably already know, the team wasn’t ready. We came out flat again – more like the Czech game instead of the Italy one. Once again, Bruce didn’t put the right players on the field either. The fans did a decent job, but not the same energy that was in Kaiserslautern. Sure, the USA got ripped off on the PK call for Ghana. But in the end, they have to overcome these things – I’ve seen worse calls in this tourney – though none of course against any key European team It was a shame that the USA couldn’t manage just a win, tie, and lost to get through. A crying shame. All the effort for the Italy game went to waste too. This team seemed to play arrogantly (for no good reason) and without any real desire – save a player here and there. It’s time for the USA to clean house, coach and all. We should only ever see a handful of these players again. And since Bruce didn’t showcase any of the young players, we probably haven’t helped any of them for the future – USA will probably suffer quite a setback.
The Ghana fans were very gracious winners and despite the horrible USA showing for the cup, we still went out and enjoyed the festivities after the game.
Nuremberg was a good place – the fans/people were nice and their area, though small, was really nice.