World Cup 2006

Phil and Kate are off to Berlin and the rest of us to Cologne for the final day of the second round. We stayed right near the fan fest again in Cologne. We weren’t sure how popular the Fan Fests would be in a town where all their games were over. But about an hour before the start of games, there were long lines to get in. By the time the Brazil/Ghana game had started, the place was packed. Of course, most were pulling for Brazil but Ghana had some supporters as well. Ghana showed up for the game and played well, they were unlucky not to get a goal while they were outplaying Brazil.
Between the games, we met some German guys from the local area and had a few beers with them. They also explained why their local beer was served in small glasses – it has to be consumed within 10-15 minutes or it loses it’s favor. They were very warm and friendly guys; it was a pleasure to hang out with them.
The second game was Spain/France. The game was fairly flat. As Ivan kept on saying, the Spain team was very young and might have trouble with an experienced team. At the very end, France’s experience came through and they showed up at the end of the game – really for the first time in any of their games.