Gelsenkirchen

We had our fist World Cup experience. There were four of us: Reid, Klisch, Paty and myself. The World Cup experience with the fans in the stadium exceeded expectations! It was awesome. The four of us, or maybe just three as Paty won’t admit it, had Goosebumps during the national anthem before the game. I really think that the US Soccer fan came of age in this tournament. We were as loud as the Czech contingent and we had almost as many fans in attendance. Here are a few pictures from before the game as Sam’s Army was warming up in the city center:









The experience with the city of Gelsenkirchen was not great. The event was fabulous, the city was disappointing. The four of us now know what a sardine feels like because of the bus ride to the stadium from the city center. But once we got the stadium, it was awesome! 52,000 seats and not a bad seat in the house. A soccer only stadium, so there was no track to contend with. You felt like you were on top of the pitch. Here are a few pics from the stadium: