Games in Cologne

We were in Köln for the Germany v Sweden second round game. This is where we watched the game. The atmosphere was crazy; the Germans really have now bought into their teams chances.


After Germany beat Sweden, it was Mexico's turn. So Paty did the quick change and we set out to find a beer hall with a good TV set up.

We found a great beer hall with a projector set up that was top notch. Since the German game had recently ended, the place was starting to clear out. So we secured a primo location. As game time got closer it got really crowded and we met some local Germans that we watched the game with. Continuing a theme of the trip, they were confused as to what an American was doing in Germany. They believe the stereotype that all Americans hate 'Soccer'.


The next day was the England v Ecuador game; I decided to don the US colors once more. This would lend my support to 'Ingerland' via association.

We decided to watch this game at the fanfest, as the English were out in force as usual. The atmosphere in the fanfest was great, until the weather turned what would charitably be described as ominous.


The pictures on the top are from just before kickoff, notice the team lining up on the screen. The picture below is from the 60' mark of the game as the TV went out for a few seconds just as Beckham scored the free kick.


Paty trying to find shelter under the beer trailer with the English before the onslaught:

About 5 minutes after these pictures were taken it started raining, HARD. For those of you that were at my wedding, we would call this Cancun Rain. Basically the fanfest almost completely cleared out. Part of that is because the lightning knocked out the TV signal for about 5 minutes. I think the organizers got the TV back up by basically using an antenna for the local signal as when they got it back up, the game was now in German and in widescreen format where before it was in HD and English. The fanfest quickly filled back up when people realized the worst of the rain had passed and the game was back on. We braved the storm packed into a coffee shop close by. But not before getting completely soaked trying to hide under an eve. There was no hiding as the rain was coming sideways, thus you almost needed to take shelter in a tunnel to be dry. Overall it was an extremely memorable night watching football in Germany with the English.