World Cup

The World Cup has taken over our house! It's huge all over the world, except in the US, I think. Does anyone care about the World Cup, or soccer in general for that matter, in the US? I know I didn't while I was there. The last time I watched soccer was four years ago when I was in Kenya and the World Cup was happening in South Africa. It was fun to watch it with people who enjoy it. I found myself getting into it a bit. This time around, George has been watching it in the evenings, but I haven't really been paying attention to the games.

I was caught by surprise when I got a call from a missionary friend here in Moshi (the one who leads the playground ministry) saying "George invited us on Facebook over to watch the US game tonight, was he joking or can we come?" I laughed and said, "sure, we'll be home. Come over." So she came with her kids and a friend and we all watched the game together.

It was really fun! We all complained about the players when they fell down and exaggerated injuries in order for a penalty to be called and most of us cheered team USA on wholeheartedly (I won't name the team Germany supporters. Rhymes with Schmorge). What I love about soccer is the time. 90 minutes of play, no time outs for out of bound balls or penalties. Just a few minutes added to the game for injuries. Much better than American football where 60 minutes of play takes over three hours. The World Cup is cool because it brings people together. I love things like that. It was really nice to have people over for an impromptu, stress free soccer party.

Go Team USA! (By the way, we lost the match, but moved on to the next round.)