Gooooooooal!

From the BBC:
"US halts work for Germany clash"

Parts of the US came to a standstill as people took time out from work to watch their team's crucial World Cup match against Germany. Despite losing 1-0 to one of the giants of world football, USA advanced through the so-called Group of Death to the knock-out stages. A record 24.7 million Americans tuned in for Sunday's 2-2 draw with Portugal, but Thursday's game was during the day.

USA's German coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, tweeted a "get out of work letter". "I understand that this absence may reduce the productivity of your workplace but I can assure you that it's for an important cause," he wrote. In response, New York governor Andrew Cuomo gave state employees an extra hour for lunch. Some fans took the liberty of taking time off work without authorisation, filling bars, parks and other public viewing areas across the country. Among up to 500 fans watching the game at The Archway Under Manhattan Bridge in New York's Brooklyn borough was one USA fan, 21 years old, who said he had skipped work to watch the game with his girlfriend. Around him, chants of "U! S! A! U! S! A!" filled the air and the famous Stars and Stripes were draped over people's shoulders or painted on their faces.  On the way to Dupont Circle before the match a restaurant with outdoor seating is blaring Born in the USA, Bruce Springsteen's hit, and every diner is facing the televisions.

The circle itself is half-full but it's packed tight and tough to get a good view of the two large TV screens broadcasting. There are American flags worn as capes, Lady Liberty foam tiaras, plenty of face paint and not an insignificant number of German flags. The chants are "U! S! A! U! S! A!", "I will believe that we will win", and of course "Ole, ole, ole."  "I started playing soccer when I was five years old," says Gino Gallardo, whose American flag face paint design is cracking in the summer heat. He's convinced he'd still be a fan even if he hadn't played as a child. "It's the world's sport."

 

 

^ I don't understand why Americans would take any time to watch the World Cup. Soccer is only popular and played by little kids here and then you move on to baseball and basketball. I guess people just didn't want to go to work/school and it was an excuse to not get fired or in trouble. ^

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28040259