Well Im very happy that we scored 2, that means we've scored in every match in a major tournament, with a ltlle luck we could have won ( or rather if they weren't lucky in a few of their goals and if we'd have gotten the clear penalty).
Oh, Vlad. I actually still had a story from 2010 during the world cup. It may be a bit long though -fair warning-.
So 2010, that was the first year I actually showed immense interest in soccer during the World Cup. I was so fascinated by all the poules, all the nations that were participating and just the general atmosphere was amazing! And the fact that it was in South Africa made it even more effective, that opening game -and that masterful first goal scored by Sipihwe against Mexico had me instantly mesmerized. The celebration of the South Africans at that point was so gratifying to watch, and it still gives me chills to this day - there was a certain sense of respectful pride shown in the celebration that not many countries respectfully display.
Holland had one of it's best teams to date, and everyone was getting stoked for that anticipated first match against Denmark.
Before-hand, I had bought a DVD titled: Road to Africa. It did a countdown of the 100 best players coming into the World Cup. Absolutely brilliantly summarized, and an amazing countdown that got me so, so excited to see everyone play - as that was going to be my first world cup that I was actively going to watch.
In the mean-time, I had done research on all the previous world cup's, and even memorized the majority of statistics and had a bunch of great conversations with my friends about it even though the amount of memorization on my part even had them lost at times.
I even made my own poules and played soccer against friends, making teams and that that we chose which country we wanted to play for that match. I made poules with everything (Wii soccer, little merchandizing toys from my local grocery store that we got after we shopped there -the toys were little green figures with a country flag around them.) Me and my friends would stand at the store asking for the toys from adult shoppers, haha. Which is funny considering we hardly ever got them because there were always other kids begging for them too. Every single day at school the collection of those toys grew by each person, and we even traded doubles. I remember having a lot of Portugals, haha.
It's fair to say it took up the majority of my summer during 2010. The hype surrounding the event, from all around, was seriously insane. Not only were the students talking about it, but teachers would literally stop the class so that we could watch the games (Even if Holland wasn't playing) Soccer world cups in Europe are the ABSOLUTE best.
I remember the very first time I went into town to see that opening game from Holland against Denmark. The town (Nijmegen) was PACKED, everywhere were people staring at this huge screen. All the bars were open with screens inside the bars as well. And the general excitment everytime Holland scored was so amazing, I should have recorded that. It was also awesome how well Holland was doing that year as well, they literally smashed the competition. And the finale was a nail-biter.
But besides that, the songs released for that year were absolutely amazing. I remember playing those songs non-stop whilst I was doing research about previous world cups, or playing soccer on the Wii. I was OTT obsessed, for real, haha.
But I just re-watched them today and got an immense wave of nostalgia. I'd like to go over them real quick :).
So, that was ofcourse the main song. It was pretty over-played, but I always loved the music video. It really attempted to bring in atmosphere, and the visuals they used still get me to this day. From the opening shot of when Italy won against France in the finals of 2006, to to the very last shot of unity. The part of the music video that always stuck with me was 2:25-2:41. Those shots still give me chills, ofcourse the legendary Maradonna being feautured like that was amazing, and the miraculous Bulgaria win during the 1996 World Cup against GERMANY in the QUARTER FINALS. Iconic moment that will always stay at the top of the rankings of best World Cup games ever played. The goal keepers reaction within the music video is absolutely priceless.
Then there is ofcourse 'Wavin Flag' by K'Naan
-Look out for the Orange colors before watching, that is the color Holland always wears! :-D
Beautiful shots all around, they show the culture of South Africa amazingly, and Nelson Mandela being featured so heavily is still what makes that song one of my favorites. Just check the music video out, you won't regret it! :)
So yeah, it was a lively expierence during 2010, and the memories made are ones I look fondly back on. My first soccer expierence surrounded by European hype-culture (Which actually did deliver, cosnidering hype usually never delivers), and also my first expierence being in a jam-packed town during the event as well as all the memories made with my friends make it possibly the best summer of my life so far!
It was just absolutely amazing.
Ofcourse there is a bunch of personal context within this post, so I'm sorry if I went on a bit TOO long. But anyways, I felt like sharing that with you! :)
Miko @ 1/7/2016 21:52
vladykins @ 1/7/2016 21:48
Don't forget that vuvuzelas suddenly became internationally known. :)
US played like shit that year- got out of group but then lost to Ghana. lol
Oh yes! How could I forget! Haha, they were EVERYWHERE. The parents all thought it was super annoying, but I always had a blast with them, haha. I used to have a Dutch and South African one. Those were honestly the best!
The games whilst being watched live always seemed like bees were flying in the background due to the amount of vuvuzelas in the background, haha. SO MUCH MEMORIES :')
Miko @ 1/7/2016 22:10
I couldn't find the full documentary about Destination South Africa (I had remembered the title wrong), but youtube has the first 10 minutes on it. I HIGHLY suggest to watch the intro part, I would sometimes put on the DVD just to watch the intro! It's pretty awesome!
Miko @ 1/7/2016 22:20
Oh wow, bringing back these memories have arisen a certain feeling of euphoric nostalgia. It's quite a special feeling tbh!
^^ Too long and meaningful to me to be lost in Boolshit.
But anyways, I still have a few pictures from that summer whilst in town, I'll try and look for them real quick. :)
2010 was great- I'd been coaching my son's team for a year or two at that point, so he was *very* interested in watching the games, even though he was all of 7. (Yes, coaching them at that age is entertaining- at least you don't have to explain offsides rules to them yet).
Granted, my wife also discovered David Villa. :rofl:
How can you have any pudding if you won't eat your meat?
Here are the pictures: (first of all, I used to be a socially awkward teenager, and was very photo-shy, so don't judge me :p)
But these pictures should portray exactly the hype during the World Cups! Hope you enjoy um!
When Holland beat Cameroon during the final poule match w/my mom and one of my sisters
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Right before the Quarter final match between Holland and Brazil started w/vuvuzela
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When we went into town for the 2014 World Cup Matches:
When Holland beat former champions Spain 5-1 (w/some friends - even more awkward on camera)
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pictures of the crowd during Holland vs Spain
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My street decorated during the duration of the World Cup
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<-- Don't worry, that's my house, lol.
But this video best portrays the real hype during Soccer. This was when they beat Uruguay in the Semi Finals of 2010 (not my video obvs, but it was the same atmosphere I was trying to explain)
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and video portraying what it's like in Holland during 'that' time of year. :p
#1 GOAT
<-- Don't worry, that's my house, lol.
