I have been here throughout the World Cup but have yet to make any comments about it. The other night I watched Argentina against Germany and it turned out to be one of the most emotionally frustrating games I have ever watched. I am not a fan of either team but having watched Argentina outplay Germany for 120 minutes (a credit to the fitness of soccer players) and then lose on penalties was horrible. I have met people both here and in the past that have said that soccer is just a game and while I agree that on a basic level of course that is true but in terms of soccer on the world stage with young and old in countries everywhere watching this is not the case. When Cambiasso missed the final penalty for Argentina and was in tears after the game I was reminded how much I hate penalties as a way to finish a game because it puts so much pressure on individual players. No person who has never been in that position could relate to having the whole world watching you kick a soccer ball to decide your team's outcome. I'm not sure when it was decided that penalties were a way to decide a game but whoever made that decision was certainly a fool. This way of deciding a game has little or nothing to do with skill as many of the world's best have missed a penalty but is simply a way to bring the game to a close faster instead of letting the skill of the teams decide the game no matter how long it takes. Only Ireland vs. Spain four years ago and Cameroon vs. England in 1990 have ever affected me so strongly having watched Ireland and Cameroon and now Argentina outplay the other team but lose because of something as ridiculous as a penalty.

We all live in a world where especially for young men and women there are few or no heroes to emulate. Young and old men and women cling to movie stars, musicians, and in this case soccer players. I can remember growing up in Ireland watching the World Cup and seeing my country (a tiny place) represented on the world stage. This moved soccer beyond a game to a representation of the abilities of my country to compete with others. When I see people from around the world there to represent their country both as players as fans it reminds me how important it is for all of us to maintain some kind of identity. So many of us work jobs that we are neither interested in or passionate about and when we go to Church we are often surrounded by others who have little or no passion left for our beliefs and simply attend out of habit or perceived expectation. It is no suprise then that something like soccer is so popular because there fans can place all of their passion and energy into the support of their team. Soccer is not my great passion in life but I think it is naive to call the fans of soccer foolish or mock their emotion related to the game. Human beings created in the image of a passionate God can not be expected to live dispassionate lives and not search for something like soccer to follow and be a part of. In countries like Brazil and Argentina many young people are growing up with nothing and their only escape from that world is through sport. It is no wonder that Brazil has always produced some of the finest soccer players as many have had to fight through intense poverty and competition just to make it to that point. This would not be a popular opinion but a few weeks ago when I watched Ghana knock the US out of the Cup I was glad because I knew that the celebrations in Ghana would be intense. The United States especially in the Olympics has always been a winner and the awareness of the World Cup in the US is only now increasing. I knew that for Ghana to win would mean so much more to that country and so I was pleased.

Before anyone again mocks the crazy fans it would be wise to realize that that may be all that person has ever known to be able to develop any passion about.

Since my last post I spent another day camping this time outside of Frankfurt where I got to see the other quarter final soccer games on the big screen at the campground. It is very common here to have a big screen set up in each village for the games. I have decided I must get another tent now because the one I have is a one man tent and unfortunately seems to absorb the dew during the night. This leads to some wet and wild times in the tent when I try to get out in the morning and the tent dumps water on me. I was really glad to have it for my first days camping but now I think I should get a different one. That night at the campground I got to meet two lads from Armagh after the games and chatted to them until the whee hours. Then in the morning I met another two lads from Edinburgh and got to talk to them about their travel plans. It makes it so much easier when I can connect with people while on the road especially to chat to other travelers. I think that for any sole traveler camping is a good option because it is a very popular activity in Europe and so you are unlikely to come across an empty campground.

After Frankfurt I came down here to Mannheim to visit and stay with Floyd's cousin Eddy and his wife on the US military base. They have taken good care of me the last two days and I have gotten to meet many of their friends. Saturday night we went out to eat at Chili's at the Ramstein air base close by and got some good ol American food. I have only eaten at German restaurants a few times since I arrived but you can immediately tell you are at an American restaurant based on the portion sizes. I hadn't had that much food since I left Phoenix. Sunday I spent some time looking around Mannheim with Eddy and then last night played poker with him and some of his friends. I'm glad I used to play sometimes at Daniel's place so I knew what to do as I could tell some of them had been playing for a while. I was definitely more conservative since there was a small buy in to play. I usually play every hand even if I have no good cards but was a little wiser this time around. Many of those that I met here miss being back in the US and are looking foward to their return home. I guess it has been hard for some of them to connect with the German people and the base has everything they need for the most part. I would want to travel a lot if I was stationed here but I understand that many of them don't have any time to do so.

Today I'm heading northeast into Bavaria hopefully to a place called Bamburg. Michael in Koln recommended that area to me so I want to go and take a look. I have added pictures to Lovable Quirks from my time camping on the Rhein so have a look at those. I will be in Berlin by Wednesday or Thursday and stay there until after the Final. Love to all and any of you that haven't me in a while please do as I want to know what is going on in your lives as much as possible.