World Cup 2006

This is a travel day, with Phil and Kate going to Hamburg and the rest to Berlin. This entry will follow the others – perhaps Phil & Kate will add their own? The trip to Berlin and then on to the hotel was just over 5 hours. Not attending any games today, so we just want to get settled and to the Fan Fast for the Brazil/Croatia game (unless we lucked into some tickets somewhere along the way, of course). The Brazil fans shine just like the team – they are very festive – there were drums and such in Cologne for those fans going to the game (or just to the Berlin Fan Fest?)

The Berlin Fan Fest was incredible. There were a tremendous amount of people – as far as the eye could see. They had huge TV screens (yes screens) in a row so that all the people could see. Somehow we came in at perfect spot and got to the front of a walkway separator near the front of the first, biggest screen. Surprisingly, the Croatian fans were more in number and louder than the Brazilian ones. There was a big group that settled in right behind us. They had lots of chants and were having a good, but quirky time.
Another of their odd traditions seems to be the red fares. About the same time that they went off on the TV (during the last of the game), they had some go off just right behind us too. It was something to see.

Brazil looked poor (for them) slow and reluctant without much energy. The played just like they had in several of their last qualifiers, like they were bored with soccer – in a bad way – just not that interested in the game. If they continue this, they’re sure to get sent home, the Aussies or Japanese might just upset them as well.

We checked out the inside of the Dom, it was massive. Kate saw that it is the largest (or one of the largest) churches in Germany. It had great detail inside and out. The stain glass windows were awesome as well.
Phil and Kate seemed to find inner peace in Cologne (well, to be truthful, Phil is okay any time he has beer). The just seemed a little more transcendental – perhaps it was the spirit of the cup, being near the Dom or then again, maybe it was just really good beer.
Dean, Gwen and Daniel supported the USA from the Fan Fest while the rest traveled to the game. The world cup fans are mostly a very please group to be around, we met several nice Czech guys to and from the game. Daniel and Dean met several guys from several different countries as well at the Fan Fest.
Finally, the long wait for the first USA game is over. The day is here. We were pumped, the crowd (on the trains from Cologne, was mostly USA, probably 60-70%). The fans were ready. We did all that we could – flags, wild hair, yelling. Fans were dressed up, excited, chanting for their team.
But as you probably already know, the team wasn’t ready and didn’t seem to even try very hard. The game was quite disappointing (even embarrassing). Greg thinks that soon the calls for “Bruce has got to go” will be heard everywhere (besides just from him). The team seemed very flat, poorly positioned and organized and worst of all without any real heart. Sure, if some things had gone differently, it might have sparked better play. We agreed with the (rather belated) half-time decision to put Eddie up top and bring back Landon, but by that time Brian was spent from playing in the wrong assignment during the 1st half. Beasley was really poor the entire game and should’ve either never started or been pulled out quickly – Client would’ve provided some much needed spark.

Unfortunately, Italy and Ghana both played with much more heart than either us or Czech, so for both of us to beat both of them will be tough to do (especially, since the Czech team lost some guys and got several yellows). But, that’s the hole we’re in, and it’ll be tough to climb out of. A different team has to show up against Italy (or even Ghana) or the USA is even for another beating (or two). The hope is always there - at least until the next game And perhaps we’ll add some face paint to make sure we beat the Italians – there was some stoned American guy (formerly stationed in Germany) that guaranteed that Italy couldn’t come to K-town and beat his boys.

We traveled together the next day to Cologne via the trains. Some of the same problems getting out of our small town outside of Frankfurt (a bit worse because it was a Sunday), but arrived in Cologne in plenty of time. There we navigate through the sea of people, several parties and twists and turns to get to the hotel – very near the WM fan fest (official viewing party).
It was a good day of just seeing the fans, games, and a bit of the town. We met some nice people from all around – Germany, Iran, Ireland, etc – even though I was (cough, unknowingly) supporting the Holland team.
Phil was sporting his FC Dallas jersey – we had a bet that he’d be the only one with that shirt – we lost. As we were watching the Mexico/Iran game at the Fan Fest, the other FC Dallas jersey walked right up next to us. We couldn’t believe it. It was very funny. We quickly realized that we were pulling for different teams though when Mexico scored. However, when Iran quickly answered, it confirmed that there were more Iran fans there than Mexico – it was a good time.

The first of many trips around Germany started today, this one from Munich to Frankfurt. Phil and Kate stuck to the original plan and flew between the two cities. The rest took the train (though at different times). It was an early start because of the tight schedule and early game start (3pm). Gwen, Daniel and I took the early train as planned. Getting to Frankfurt was no problem, but then the connections, crowds, and waits took a bit to get to the hotel. The advertised 26 minutes were really just the train time, the elapsed time was more like an hour and a half! We arrived first at the hotel, odd as Phil and Kate were flying, only 2½ hours to game time. Meanwhile, Ivan and Dean caught the next train and realized they wouldn’t make it to the hotel and back. So, what to do? Naturally, the automobiles come in here – a 40euro taxi ride did the trick. They arrive just 30 minutes later, but still no Phil and Kate. The inet provided the answer, their flight was delayed about 45 minutes (and they almost got bumped we'd find out later).
Well, with just an hour and have left, they arrived and Dean, Ivan, Phil and I were off to the game, hopefully to make it. Things went smooth enough – got some instructions from some locals and we were on our way. With more than 30 minutes left, we changed at the main train station and were just 2 short stops away. But. The train was canceled or something, so run to the next track, which became another as we got there. We were sitting on the train still with plenty of time. But. The train didn’t take off. Ten minutes later, the ten minute ride got us within about 1 mile of the stadium. So with just ten minutes left until kick-off, we’d never make it. But. Phil set the pace and we ran/jogged to the stadium, thru security and on to our seats. We were standing at our seats for the kick-off, somehow! Good thing too as the only score of the game came very early – without the run, we’d missed it.

The British were out in full force at the game of course and had lots of cheers. Our group seemed split – half England and half for Paraguay. Unfortunately, Paraguay seemed off and didn’t play well. En-g-land’s stars played pretty well, except of course for Rooney who was still sidelined with an injury. Beckham impressed us all, as we had never seen him play live before. But the mighty Paraguay team force England to remove their offensive and sit back to grind out the win. England will have to show better if they still want to win the group (especially with Sweden tying T&T and becoming more desperate). There’s talk of T&T winning the group (actually, it was just Ivan being funny).

Gwen, Daniel and I made to the Deutsches Museum the next day. It was really interesting even though some of the main exhibits weren’t open. But there was more that we couldn’t seen in several days anyways. Dean and Ivan has to deal with the on-going search for their luggage along with the possibility of replacing things. The luggage was reportedly on its way so a major shopping trip was temporarily avoided. Unfortunately, nothing arrived before the game.

The trains were completely jammed packed on the way to the game, we couldn’t even make it into the first train that came. The crowds were very well behaved though – actually more subdued then we had seen at the main train station. It was a long sea of people to the stadium, quite a sight to see.

But after all the planning and waiting, at long last we made it to the opener! Everyone was happy to be there and the stadium was really interesting looking from the outside. It looked more amazing that pictures that I had seen of it – like a giant IMAX screen canvas covering the outside. It’ll be really cool to see at night next time.

Germany verses Costa Rica. The pageantry before the start was interesting, with women hanging from the top of the stadium, giant flags from each country, stages, performanace. The opening game didn’t disappoint. Three goals within the first 17-18 minutes of the start – and two that were on our end.
The Ticos had to be pleased with their first performance and though the German’s had some trouble, in the end, they played without Ballack, scored some fine goals and won. And since Ecaudor upset Poland, the Germans will have their hands full with a team desperate to win. As Ivan says, this Group could easily be decided by the next game.

After the game, Ivan’s and Dean’s luggage finally did show up. For the sake of their comfort and our noses, we were all thankful indeed!

Day 1:

Wow! Munich was awesome and what a terrific first match. As expected, everyone was in recovery mode the first day, so we just saw a bit of the town. Marienplatz was certainly different looking with all the televisions and stages and such. The other thing that was very odd was that there were camera crews everywhere. Every country was filming some odd reporter, typically doing goofy things. There was a guy (from some country) at the table behind us that worked on trying to order off of the German menu (in German of course). They filmed his learning experience, his ordering and the arrival of his Spaetzle. We were all on TV (in the background) in some country some where.

Ivan and Dean had a rough start to the trip as their flight over was canceled. They were re-route and ended up with a 4 hour layover in Zurich (but even worse, their luggage was lost in all the chaos). So Phil, Kate, Gwen, Daniel, and I went exploring without them. We enjoyed some sights – some famous ones like the Duke's Residenz and some that were far less famous, such as the oddity of a building with a large pink mirror.

Hello, Prost, Cheers to all!

Welcome to the home travel log/diary/blog for the Magnum FC 6 group (M6) that is attending the 2006 World Cup in Germany (Die Weltmeisterschaft im Deutschland) starting June 9th through July 9th - for a month of fun!

The original M6 group was formed nearly four years ago. The "guys" from a soccer team called, Magnum FC, decided to come to the cup. So the planning (and saving) has been in the works for quite a while now. The "gals" were kind enough to put up with the idea of a month overseas and so M6 was born. M6 consists of following cast of characters:

• Dean aka "Skirt Rule Man"
  
• Greg aka "Spreadsheet King"
  
• Gwen aka "Culture Quest Queen"
  
• Ivan aka "What's 'on Time' Dude"
  
• Kate aka "All is Groovy Girl"
  
• Phil aka "The Sportsaholic"
  

We welcome you to follow us on our month long journey through culture, food and good times - oh, yeah - and some soccer, too. We look forward to meeting new people (after all, it is a time to make friends), experiencing new places and things and of course, the most exciting sports event on the planet!