How I Missed a Whole Game

I'm sure it was a spectacular game. That's what all the news reports said. I tried to watch, I really did. It wasn't like I was doing anything else at the time. But it just seemed like fate was stacked against me for watching this game.

Despite attempting for the full two hours to watch the game, I missed all five goals and the end of the match. Let me explain.

I showed up to the fan zone about two hours before kickoff and did my normal "go around and talk to people" routine, which yielded fine results. About 15 minutes before kickoff I took a seat in the giant field where they air the game, ready for what I was sure would be an exciting match. It was at this point that I noticed the awfully dark clouds gathering on the horizon, but I figured they would be plenty of time before anything materialized.

At kickoff, I looked back and noticed that the dark clouds were now pretty much right on top of me. Determined to see the game, I held my ground as people started making for the exit. It was at this point that a warning announcement came over the loudspeaker noting that a storm was approaching and that it was expected to hail. We were asked to make for the exit. This was around 20 minutes.

It took me 10 minutes to get to the closest pub. Anybody who was watching the game knows that in this 10 minutes, Boral scored for Turkey and Schweinsteiger equalized for Germany, meaning I had missed two goals walking from the game to the game. That made me unhappy.

As I rolled into the pub through the rain, and was filled in on the goals, which isn't the same as seeing them at all, I took a seat by one of the pub's many TVs. No hail would get me now, and I could watch the rest of the game in warmth, dryness, and peace. I watched as the first half came to a close, and the pub changed the channel during halftime, so I missed the half's highlights.

The second half started out relatively slow, and I watched as it trudged along. It started picking up again at about 70 minutes, and then at 75 minutes, the unthinkable happened. The TV cut out. Due to the bad weather, the Pub's satellite signal gave out, and they assured us that it would be back on soon. Soon wasn't soon enough as when the game cut back on, Germany was leading and I had missed the game's third goal.

At this point I was starting to get unhappy. This is the first game I'd really missed any of this whole tournament, and to miss this one (which actually has goals) just really isn't cool. So I sat in silence secretly hoping Germany or Turkey would score again if for no other reason than I would get to see another goal.

Then the screen cut back off. People started yelling and jeering, and I just stared in disbelief. Obscenities were flying at the bar manager and I just backed into the corner.

When the screen cut back on, the game was over and Germany was sitting on the pitch celebrating and Lukas Podolski was jumping into the crowd taking people's paraphernalia. They had scored two more goals, and fended off a late-minute Turkey offensive. It was at this point that the bar manager, realizing I had finished my drink, asked me if I wanted anything else. I said I just wanted to watch the highlights, and then I would be gone. He told me if I wanted to do that I'd have to buy another drink. Disgruntled, telling the bar manager that he should be buying the whole pub drinks, I picked up my hat, headed out into the rain, and wandered back to my hostel. I still haven't seen the goals.

Hopefully, the same won't happen tonight, and if it does, I might just fly back to the states so I can watch the game in peace.