On the way to Rustenburg

June 12 is the reason Americans traveled en masse to South Africa.

On the 60th anniversary of the greatest upset in World Cup history the United States faced the English in their first game of the 2010 World Cup. Multiple South African media outlets have reported that no other country had more residents purchase tickets to the bottom of the world than the United States.

Rustenberg is nowhere near the country’s three biggest cities, which is where most Americans are based. The two hour drive between Rustenburg and Johannesburg made getting there difficult, but not impossible, for the thousands of fans who not only made the trip, but scored a coveted ticket.

Stefan and Peter Galich saw an opening and organized a bus trip to take more than 200 supporters from Johannesburg to Rustenburg for the contest. The two brothers, who grew up in Pasadena, Calif., have attended every World Cup since it was in the U.S. 16 years ago.

The group met in the Nelson Mandela Square in the Sandton neighborhood of Johannesburg six hours before kickoff. Residents said the area is not just the most affluent in town, but on the entire continent.

Saturday, the square was awash in colors as Argentines wore the colors of La Albiceleste, hundreds of excited Americans were decked out in red, white and blue and people from all walks of life were in Sandton shopping and soaking up the atmosphere that was punctuated with the sound of vuvuzelas.

Moments before the busses were to depart Stefan stood up to announce the plans for the six busses to a loud and deserved ovation.

It was no coincidence the busses were coordinated to coincide with important years in America’s relationship with the English: 1776, 1812, 1950, 1994 and 2010. The sixth bus was called The Short Bus, but was long on revelry.

Everyone wore something that was red, white and blue whether it was a T-shirt, a replica jersey, hats, pants, shoes and anything else one could imagine. There were jerseys, Landon Donovan shirts, Clint Dempsey shirts. One person even wore a Ricardo Clark jersey though the Georgian midfielder will likely not feature in the starting lineup.

If the result atmosphere of the contest rivals the pregame festivities of the rowdy American crowd here the only people who will be disappointed will be the English—after being the latest victim of the giant-killing Americans.