July 15, 2010 by kevinserwin
The USA vs. Ghana game provided another great opportunity for the US fans to show their support, and they came out in full force. Returning to Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, where they drew with England in their first match, the grounds were buzzing many hours before game time. I brought my South African friend Tertius and it was his first soccer match ever, so this was a special experience for us both. We joined a large group of fans that gathered inside the gate to watch the Uruguay v. South Korea game on the big screen. The stadium itself was an open-air style, which made things very cold once the sun went down. But this had no effect on our fans, who were singing and chanting while taking photos of each other. In the stadium, our fans were outnumbered 3-1, with all of Africa behind the last African team in the tournament. But you couldn’t tell from the noise level coming from our fans. Even when we went behind early, the fans never wavered and they played a big part in Donovan’s equalizer. Going into overtime, the feeling around the stadium was that we were headed towards victory. Unfortunately, our run of good form ended after a goal from Gyan early in overtime. Although upset and disappointed, the American supporters stayed long after the game had ended, showing their appreciation for the team and consoling one another. The US run was over, but it gave us many emotional moments that we’ll never forget.
My next game was two days later in Johannesburg, at Ellis Park. The quarterfinal match up was between two attack minded teams, Brazil and Chile. I had purchased this ticket to see the “group of death” winner before I left the States hoping that I would see Brazil, and they put on a show. The Brazilians and Chileans have a long, heated rivalry that stretches back decades. You could tell their interactions before and during the game weren’t the friendly banter we had seen in previous games; it was war. The steward 
brought me to my seat, which ended up being 3 rows from the field! As before, the Chilean fans were loud and passionate for their team, banging drums and leading chants that even non-Chilean fans wanted to join in. Once the game started, however, it was Brazil who led the celebrating. Juan opened the scoring with a towering header right in front of us, and Fabiano added to his tally from a beautiful turn from a quick combination play. Watching the team celebrate right in front of me was exciting to see. It’s really awesome to see the best players in the world only meters away! After scoring a third, Brazil cruised to victory and into the quarterfinals. My last game at Ellis Park was incredible, filled with great attacking soccer.
My final game was at Soccer City in Johannesburg, and our last tickets followed Ghana as the winner of the previous game against the US. The entire stadium, with exception to about 500 Uruguayan supporters, were behind the Black Stars of Ghana, who were trying to get to the semifinal for the first time in their history. I was a special game as I brought another South African friend, Melanie, to her first game. Soccer City was amazing, and there were over 85,000 fans in attendance. Ghana had the place roaring right before halftime when they went ahead through an amazing goal that wrong-footed the goalkeeper. The place went absolutely crazy when they scored, and the vuvuzelas stayed loud until the player of the tournament, Diego Forlan, whipped in an amazing free kick that silenced the crowd. It was amazing to hear such a loud crowd go to almost silent after the goal. The game went into extra time, and it was going to end uneventful until the final minute when Luis Suarez deliberately used his hands to prevent a sure goal from a Ghana header. After being red-carded and a penalty awarded to Ghana, Uruguay looked to be all but out. The noise level rose again in anticipation of the ensuing penalty kick, and then again, silence, as Gyan skied his effort off the crossbar and over. The crowd was stunned, and, probably as expected, the Uruguayans held their nerve in the penalty shootout to advance.
This final game capped a World Cup that I will never forget. The crowds, the celebrating, the goals and the emotional highs and lows is something that every soccer fan should experience
