It came down to a shoot-out, and with much disappointment, we watched Ghana bow out of the World Cup. We were dually bummed. Not only were we in full support of the Black Starts at this point, but we were also looking for a win, so at least we could say that Team USA lost to the victors of the quarterfinals. We all gathered around a big screen tv at a bar & grill in Kumasi to watch the deadlock between Uruguay and the Black Stars. The heart-wrenching end to the second overtime was almost too much for the Ghanaians to handle. Uruguay player uses his hands to defend the ball while in the net?!? Red card!! Then a missed chance for a Ghana goal! Gyan doesn’t miss penalties! Sadly, the Black Stars just couldn’t get the lifts on the ball and shots on goal that were needed. Gyan redeemed himself, but with two misses and only one miss on the other side, Uruguay advanced. Ghana was broken hearted, but still proud of their Black Stars.
I’ve always had a love of soccer. Growing up, my Italian neighbors lived and breathed for soccer and the World Cup. I remember hearing the tirade of screams erupt from next door when Italy lost to Brazil in 1994. It was ultimately Andrea and Joey’s passion for the game that led me to start playing. That entire summer, we played pick-up games every night in our adjoining backyards with all the other neighborhood kids. Being in Ghana, I haven’t gone a day without seeing several pick-up games going on. Everybody here has passion for the game.
We were thrilled to be in Africa for the World Cup. When Ghana emerged as the only African team to make it to Round of 16, I bragged that clearly Ghana must be the best country in all of Africa. From the get-go, we hoped for a US-Ghana match. When we realized it could be a possibility after the US pulled forward to the number one spot of Group C with a goal by Donavan in the last minute of the match, we secretly hoped Ghana would lose to Germany to land the number two spot in Group D so they would play. Sure enough, the football gods allowed for the match-up.
So there we were at Basilissa, one of our favorite restaurants, bantering with the waitresses and other customers. They made us stand up and sing the national anthem. They attempted to sing their anthem, but didn’t know the words. Instead they adopted the phrase “Ghana, yes we can!” We heckled back “that’s OUR phrase, you can’t take that from USA!” I’ve mentioned Obama love in Ghana before, but honestly, so many people here think he belongs to them since his father is from Africa. I’ve seen Obama paintings, Obama t-shirts, Obama fabric and even Obama biscuits. I digress, though.
When Ghana scored the first goal, everyone jumped up, cheered and danced. One lady came and wrapped Katie and I in a Ghana flag. Although we reminded Ajab over and over that she was actually born in the US and should therefore be supporting team USA, she’s never felt the US was home and found herself celebrating for the team representing Africa. In the end, the US speed just wasn’t enough to get past the Black Stars. Prince Boateng and Gyan scored the two goals to advance them to the quarterfinals. Even though Katie and I wore our red, white and blue and supported our country, we were pretty excited for the Black Stars!
I’m glad I was in Ghana the whole time to experience the football craziness. Ghana, after all, did represent Africa well! And not sure if the Shakira “Waka Waka” song played every two seconds like it did here, but all the African teams were joined together to support Africa. It’s a shame Ghana had to go out the way they did, but I’m so glad I was here to meet the essence of football in Africa.
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