You know how tickled I am that England and USA both made it to the round of 16 in the World Cup! Their matches were on the same day! Yesterday, England played right here in Atlanta, Georgia and in the evening, many of the English fans attended a baseball game and cheered on the Atlanta Braves. (Many of them had t shirts that said, "England is Braves Country". I wish I could find out where they got it, I want one!) They were so funny. Remember how I told you that Boston enjoyed the Scottish fans? Well, it seems that Atlanta had the same admiration for the English! They sat behind the outfielder, Michael Harris and had great fun chanting his name. Michael Harris seemed to enjoy it too. When Michael caught a routine fly ball, they cheered loudly!
"There's only one Michael Harris!"
And Michael Harris not only plays for the Atlanta Braves, but he is also a native from Georgia! (Just like me!)
Oh, the baseball game was wonderful too. The Atlanta Braves won! And when Ozzie slid into home base, he winked at the umpire. Joy!
We stopped today at a small vegetable stand and when the lady there heard Richard's accent, she thought he might be visiting here. When I told her that Richard has lived here since the 80's but he is forbidden to lose his accent, she just laughed. Then she said that the World Cup was just what this country needed right now. Good thing for people to come here from all over the world and see what we are really like! I think I saw a quote on-line from a German fan who said that if you want to hate America, watch the news but if you want to love it, to drive through it! In other words, meet the people. For me, the World Cup has been a joyful celebration. And even for those who end up losing, they play with such heart! (Did you see the back flip that the player from Congo did yesterday when he scored his goal? Joy!)
Richard is such a great photographer, he knew this photo would be better if he cut my head off. HA! (This was from several years ago, I think Richard has a red one just like it. I probably stole this from our son!) OH! And don't worry, I just got myself a USA shirt today and I got my son one too.
So, did any of you watch the England match AND the USA match? I had to go back and forth between the USA match and the baseball game in the evening! No worries, I got to see what I wanted to see.
Tomorrow is Friday, the 3rd of July. Since July 4th is on a Saturday, the 3rd is a holiday for many. Our post office will be closed on both days, and no mail will be delivered. It is really "Independence Day" but honestly, everyone here just says, "Happy July 4th!".
What song? My favorite rendition of "America the Beautiful" by a fellow Georgian, Ray Charles!
I did watch the England game on TV but the team that tickled me the most was Norway and the Viking rowing celebrations they did, which I'd never seen the entire team and supporters doing before.
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