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USA-ITALY WORLD CUP !

Europe 2006 - June 18, 2006 7:02 am

Question: What is Christmas, your birthday, New Year’s Eve, meeting the guy of your dreams, and winning the lottery… all wrapped up into one?

Answer: Scoring a last-minute ticket to the sold-out USA-Italy World Cup match on June 16, flying to the game on the chartered jumbo jet with the US team’s friends/family, AND rubbing shoulders with the US players!

The next question surely will be “who could possibly have come upon such an unprecedented stroke of good luck??” The answer, my friends:

a. me
b. me
c. me
d. All of the above

I surely must name our firstborn child after my long-time California colleague Ken Callan, who - in a well-timed business conversation -casually mentioned that his friend Jimmy Conrad (#13) was playing in the World Cup and soon put me in touch with Jimmy’s family members staying in Hamburg. Jimmy Conrad’s mom graciously took me into her flock and treated me like one of her own. In an act of astonishing generosity, she bequeathed upon me her last, unused ticket for the Italy match… and there the fun began…

In no time I was whisked to the Hamburg airport with 300 team friends/family in 6 huge busses and boarded a chartered 747 bound for the Ramstein Air Force Base in southern Germany. We were greeted by scores of smiling military personnel who had prepared a lavish lunch in the Officers’ Club (complete with balloons, ranch dressing, real ice tea, and Budweiser!). Much to everyone’s surprise, the team later sauntered in for chats and last minute well-wishes.

300 full bellies later, we reboarded the busses and hit the Autobahn. The Americans loudly agonized over our driver’s unwillingness to ramp it up to about 150 MPH (considering the absence of a speed limit), and practically foamed at the mouth when an Italian busload of tourists edged in front of us. I was relieved to stumble onto solid ground in one piece.

Upon arriving in the vicinity of the stadium, we still had to schlep about 1 ½ miles by foot up a long hill before actually reaching the entrance. Americans, Italians, Germans, and all sorts of international brood were fully decked out in face paint and garish patriotic attire – chanting, singing, cheering, hollering naughty things about Bush to any American who would listen, and buying cold beer being sold out of the locals’ trunks. TV cameras filmed our entrance (my Statue-of-Liberty attire was well-appreciated, although perhaps due to my crown the Italians kept calling me “their queen”, which if course was just fine with me!)

I – and everyone else - was simply blown away by the US attendance at this match. More than a third of the stadium was a solid ocean of red, white and blue - with impressive sets of lungs tuned to maximum volume. Let me say for the record that one of the single greatest highlights of my LIFE was singing (yelling?) the national anthem at this US World Cup match along with some 15,000 cheering/singing/yelling Americans. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

The team came out with a bang and proceeded to astonish both us, the worldwide TV audience, and most importantly…. the Italians. While during the trek up the hill they had taunted us with predictions of a “4-0” wipeout, before their eyes the US had become the team that no one looks forward to playing. THIS, my friends, is finally the team that we have been waiting for! They magically ripped balls away from Italian offence…. jetted them through the legs of Italian defense…dazzled the audience and coaches, and kept Italy firmly on the run (at least through the first half). Coach Bruce Arena kept everyone guessing with his surprise starting lineup and some unexpected substitutions. During the game I sat next to Jimmy Conrad’s wife Lindsey. When he was called in to play during the second half (his first World Cup field appearance), she nearly fainted in shock - I had to check every few minutes to confirm she was still breathing.

A few ref calls were unfavorably received by the American fans, who were more than willing to share their feelings - with 15,000 voices in unison yelling the less-dainty version of “POPPYCOCK” several times throughout the match. (I wondered how ESPN would gently edit that for American ears). On the flip side, every fine move by our boys was met with mass hysteria, renewed chanting, more flag waving, etc. The crowd’s support nearly made up for our second-half disadvantage thanks to a few red cards.

The guys simply gave it all they got. By the end of the game, they were visibly wiped out - I think Landon Donovan even needed a few minutes of IV drip after the game to recover. They wowed us, they renewed faith in US soccer….. but we couldn’t punch it in quite enough times to take home a victory (we settled for a 1-1 tie). But no worries, if we beat Ghana and Italy smokes the Czechs – we may still advance to the next round.

In high spirits, all 300 of us fought the crowds down the hill, piled into the busses, headed for the Air Force base, and happily trundled on board. At 4:45am I tumbled into bed still half-dressed with my US flag-cape attached at the neck….

————–

Here are photos of our unforgettable day !

The US soccer friends/family chartered jumbo jet awaits:
The Charter plane.JPG

And so do 300+ of us at Gate C15 in Hamburg airport:
Waiting room.JPG

Arriving at Ramstein Air Force Base:
Air force plane.JPG

How often do you get to deplane from a 747 on the tarmac?!!
Arriving on tarmac.JPG

Family cluster for photo ops:
air force base sign.JPG

A lavish luncheon at the Officer’s Club:
Lunch at O-Club.JPG

I chat with Officer Begel, who is heading back to the States soon after 2 years in Deutschland:
Jen and Begel.JPG

Jimmy Conrad’s grandma Mable, me, & SUPER PAM :
Mable Jen Pam.JPG

The team surprises us at the O-Club!
Bus.JPG

Jimmy Conrad (#13), a So Cal native, poses with me:
Jimmy Conrad and Jen.JPG

The opening ceremony:
Opening ceremony.JPG

Introducing the players:
Landon Donovan is announced.JPG

The Donovan family struts their stuff!
Family fans.JPG

I am joined by Jimmy Conrad’s brother Dillon and wife Lindsey:
Conrads and Jen.JPG

The team plays with great heart this time:
Playing.JPG

The US fans outdo themselves!
Big flag.JPG

I discuss the flight plan back to Hamburg with our pilot:
747 cockpit.JPG

AND HERE, ON MY WEBSITE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, IS SOME VIDEO FOOTAGE FROM THE GAME! (Now, no one ever said I was a gifted videographer…)


Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

9 Responses to “USA-ITALY WORLD CUP !”

  1. Heather Says:

    GREAT FABULOUS PHOTOS

    I got goosebumps just hearing the National Anthem on TV. Just about any event that I’m at I’ll get teary eyed. So I could only imagine how great it felt to be there. I thought of you at the very beginning when they were bringing out the flags onto the field followed by the players, trying to imagine what you were feeling at that very moment.

    Anyhow it was a great game and yes that ref was horrible. You should of heard the commentators, saying how bad he was, hoping that he wouldn’t be doing any more after this game. Mohcine told me last night that the ref along with a few others were suspended last world cup. Now why in the world would you bring him back. I’m sure there are hundreds if not thousands of qualified refs around the world.

    Anyhow the team did play very well. I was impressed but who am I, I don’t really know what good and not good is when it comes to soccer. But Mohcine and his friends seemed to think the same. Saying that we should have one. Thankfully we tied, now if we can beat Ghana in their next game, we will be ok.

    Ok I probably just left the longest comment ever in blogging history. Glad you had fun…

    Love ya Miss ya

  2. balding yippie hippie Says:

    GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!

    U!!! S!!! A!!!! U!!! S!!! A!!!! U!!! S!!! A!!!! U!!! S!!! A!!!! U!!! S!!! A!!!!

    “normal” people go to, like, soccer games. only THE UBER SUPER SEEEEEEESSSSTER goes to THE U!!S!!A!!U!!S!!A!! WORLD CUP WITH THE DONOVAN’S AND THE CONRADS!!

    THATS SO COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!

    gina said when you called from the match that it was the LOUDEST THING SHES EVER HEARD!! AAArrgh i cant believe i missed that call!!!!

    U!!! S!!! A!!!! U!!! S!!! A!!!! U!!! S!!! A!!!! U!!! S!!! A!!!! U!!! S!!! A!!!!

  3. Mom Says:

    Fantastic pix, fantastic write-up!! Yes, they should have won, but they played a fantastic game against huge odds. I’m darn proud!! And we are very happy to see our boys in two great articles on the front page of the LA Times Sports Section. At last!! Getting the recognition they deserve. World Cup soccer is definitely my new favorite sport - in the summer, that is, ummm, once every four years. I’m so glad you could be there!!!

  4. Jo Ann Says:

    I so can relate to that Jeni!
    I went to Hannover Friday morning (by bus, oy!) with my sister, two friends and 50 other Angolan guys. It were 11 hours of union, wonderful! And before the game, Angola vs. Mexico, we sang our anthem, and then the game with that magnificent goal keeper of ours, boy… so many emotions!!!! And so many pics too :D

  5. Margaret Frace Says:

    Hi Jeni, I got tears in my eyes watching your video, it felt like being there. It was so fun to see and hear Lindsey Conrad screaming. I wish I was there! I am so proud of Jimmy Conrad!! He is the greatest!

  6. PAULA Says:

    JENNIFER, I WOULD LIKE TO PERSONALY THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF MY MOM (MABE, GRANDMA …….)
    :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

  7. Anita Says:

    hi jennifer,

    To say that I am a little jealous of ANYONE who makes it to the World Cup is quite the under-statement. And that you rubbed shoulders with the players, well, that would make my jealousy the under-statement of the YEAR!

    You go you goddess thing you!
    :-)
    Anita
    (www.goddess.com.au)

    PS Go Aussie! Aussie Aussie Aussie!!!!!!

  8. Secret Admirer Says:

    Jennifer,

    It’s taken me a while to get to your website and you’ve been on many more adventures since the Italy game…… but I want to say YOU ARE A GREAT SPORT!

    You did a wonderful job of pictures and writing and here it is months later, and you brought tears to my eyes.

    Thank you for sharing and being a part of such an awesome day.

  9. Jimmy Conrad’s Family « Oz City Says:

    […] Someone sent in a link to an old blog post by a girl named Jen who attended the last World Cup in Germany. It was of interest to me because it included pictures of some of Jimmy Conrad’s family. So while this post is not a story about a player’s cousin’s bar mitzvahs (sorry AJF) it does let you see some of the important people in one of our star player’s life. In the photo above is Conrad’s brother Dillion on the left, his wife Lindsey in the middle and the blogger Jen on the right. more inside. […]

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