Watching the World Cup

While its unfortunate that the US has been eliminated from the World Cup, I can still enjoy good soccer (football)! Watching the World Cup is no easy task. You have to have expensive satellite or a fast internet connection (which is also expensive).  However, people here adapt!  Many coffee shops show the games.  Even the theaters are showing the games!  I watched the first US game at a cinema.

However, one of the most exciting venues is at the mall.  Last night I went with a friend to catch the last half of the England/Germany game.  One of the cell phone operators is sponsoring World Cup showings.  You can see the area below where people can pay to sit.  And it was sold out (or so I was told when asked).  Of course, one doesn't have to pay to watch the game - which is what we (and many others) did.

Don't let the above fool you.  This was at half time.  When the game was showing, the center was packed and the outside was full with people standing and watching the game. 

Here's a glimpse from the ground (still outside the VIP area).  This is where we watched most of the game from.

People lined the railings on the 2nd and 3rd floor to catch the game.  You can also see that there were smaller tv's in the VIP area, where people could watch. 

While it wasn't as comfortable as watching from home or in a theater, it was a lot of fun watching with this many people.  No matter who scored a goal, the crowd cheered.  I think its about as good as it can get without actually being at the game.  I'm not sure I'll make it to any more mall games before we vamoose to the States, but it won't be for lack of desire!