Mass Hysteria!!!

PRETORIA-- The cacophony of noise began an hour before kickoff.

The knowledge that the United States and Algeria had to go for the victory here brought the excitement into and around the Loftus Versveld Stadium. There was chanting and flag waving but most importantly there were people from both sides playing their vuvuzelas.

American fans far outnumbered their Algerian counterparts. The hope from those in red, white and blue was the result would be as lopsided as supporters of both teams.

With the South African sun illuminating the proceedings there was American optimism—which bordered on cockiness—that Landon Donovan and Co. would advance. It was considered a formality that the US would score a goal, or two, and move on to Rustenburg Saturday to play the winners of Group D.

My seats in the East stands were about 10 rows up from the field, just about 30 yards away from the goal the United States defended in the opening half. That meant , I saw the Algerian chances in the opening 45 minutes and the Donovan goal that sent many of the 35,000 people in the stadium into euphoria.

Algeria may be an African side, but most South African indicated to me that they are supporting the United States as their secondary team behind the Bafana Bafana.

The United States had a pair of golden opportunities in the first half. When Jozy Altidore missed from eight yards away in the first half my entire section put our hands on our heads wondering how on earth someone could miss from such range.

When Herculez Gomez’ goal was ruled offsides people were wondering aloud whether someone had an agenda against the United States. It was the second straight goal that was disallowed, after a howler of a call in the Slovenia match Friday.

The disallowed goal just set up the high drama that was to ensue.

Unlike the previous two contests American fans did not debate the changes Bob Bradley made to the team. The introduction of Benny Feilhaber, Edson Buddle and finally DaMarcus Beasley excited section NN of the stadium as there was the hope that one of the three would unlock the Algerian defense.

When the fourth official notified the crowd that the United States was four minutes away from potentially going home, the optimism in the crowd remained, but it was mixed with more worry than before. People were nervously hopping up and down—no one was sitting at that point—hoping, wishing and praying that someone would put the ball in the back of the net.

As the Algerians raced down the field in the first minute of extra time, my belief started to wane. But Tim Howard — the only American who was universally praised by fans in all three group contests—was there to start the attack.

When the ball left Howard's hand, there was a collective gasp in the East stands, as American fans hoped his outlet would reach Donovan. It did, and the No. 10 raced right in front of me before whipping the ball inside for the mad scramble in front of goal.

When Donovan got on the end of the ball that sent the US into the Round of 16, not a single person in red, white or blue was in their seat. Everyone was hugging people they didn’t know, shooting pictures of the scene, waving flags, shouting at the top of their lungs or playing their vuvuzela.

To the credit of the Algerian fans, they were not belligerent and gracious in defeat. If anything the Desert Foxes and their fans were in utter disbelief that the U.S. finally broke through their defense.

Those who went to the US-England game had little positive to say about Rustenburg, or its stadium. Then again those comments were made before the United States won its group, and a date in the Round of 16...in Rustenburg.

Congratulations for dodgy goalkeeping

RUSTENBURG--The much-hyped match between the United States and England did not disappoint anyone who filed into Royal Bafokeng Park here.

The US may have been outnumbered 5:1 in fans inside the stadium, by a similar ratio when it comes to world-class players; however, the 1-1 result was all that mattered.

The clocks did not work on either end of the field, but just about everyone in the stadium had a sense of how much time was left in the two halves. A scoreboard was surplus to requirements as the noise in the stadium was the best indicator of not only which team won possession but who was closer to breaking the deadlock.

The television may have shown pictures different from what people inside this loud stadium witnessed, but it was a match where the result was deserved—even if the method in achieving it was not.

England dominated the game in the early going, exploiting space between the two American central defenders. Goalkeeper Tim Howard rightfully screamed at his defense for the lapse that allowed English captain Steven Gerrard to walk in and score on the Three Lions first shot of the game.

Howard eventually made his presence known with his commanding play in goal. The difference between Howard and fellow English Premier League goalkeeper Robert Green was stark—and the Americans I sat with made a point to mention that to the two English men who were in the row in front of us.

(Interestingly: another EPL player was in our midst. Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand, whose brother Rio is the English captain, sat in the row in front of us watching the game with a handful of people from England. That’s Anton who is in the background in my picture after 90 minutes in Rustenburg.)

There were some disagreements about which team got the better of their opponent. But most people in the stadium said the result was a fair one. The U.S. only had two real scoring chances, but in the same context England had more opportunities and squandered them.

When the Brazilian referee finally blew the whistle to indicate the match was over there were handshakes from both sides—of fans—for a good job on the evening and wishes for good luck against the perceived minnows of the group Slovenia and Algeria.

Unfortunately the person who brought a sign indicating all the important victories over the English (1776, 1812 and 1950) will not have another date to add to his banner.

The solace in the draw may be the congratulations many American supporters received from South Africans and many soccer fans about how far the team has progressed since they last saw the stars and stripes at the Confederations Cup.

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.