By Decature Tounsel

July 4, 2010

Happy Independence Day!! From, San Antonio!!!

This is my last post regarding the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and it comes exactly 2 weeks prior to the start of The 6 Yard Box’s Sunday Purple League!! The Sunday Purple League kicks off at 1pm on Sunday, July 18th at the Aztec Indoor Soccer Facility. You should check it out if you are in San Antonio this summer. Games will be held every Sunday until September 26th. You can keep up with this exciting league on our Facebook pages, Six Yard Box and The 6 Yard Box company page, and also at this site, www.6yardbox.org!

Now, back to the World Cup…

My flight back home to Chicago took me exactly 24 hours and it shouldn’t have, weather in Chicago on June 27th caused a 2.5 hour delay from our departure from Washington D.C. It was about 2pm when I finally got home, and home felt SO GOOD! Although I was going to miss South Africa, and all the great people I had met, I was looking forward to coming home to start the next stage of my life in San Antonio. I was in a car packed with a whole lot of clothes on June 30th, and drove 20 hours straight! I got to my new home at about 12.30a on July 1st and I couldn’t of been happier.

On Thursday I relived some of the moments that I experienced with my new roommates, Doug Alvarez and Crystal Alex. I showed them pictures of the South African jumbo jet that took us to Johannesburg, I showed them pictures of Arturo, Heather, Nate, Jason, Ray, Leba and the rest of our wonderful “Ke Nako” group. I showed them pictures of lions, up close and personal! I talked about stadiums filled to the brim with shouting fans from Boston, Johannesburg, Chicago, Alaska (yes, Alaska), Los Angeles, D.C., New York, Houston, Tampa, New Orleans, Slovenia, Algeria, London, Birmingham, Manchester and beyond! I told them about beer baths, Jozi Altidore jumping electronic boards, men crying, new family members, sour England fans, Brazilian and Portuguese fans, oh my!!!! ESPN, ABC and other TV crews from around the world, fan parks with 20,000 screaming South African fans, meeting Argentina soccer team players, Mario Bolatti and Clemente Rodríguez, meeting wonderful kids in a village that looked like the ones in District 9. Watching the US Soccer team win their group! Eating Crocodile! Meeting Miss Earth, the US Embassy being right across the street from our hotel, Vuvuzelas, 60 degree weather during the day, 40 degree weather at night, and the experience of all which was the experience of living the world’s greatest tournament with the World!!

I look forward to watching the Semis and Final of the World Cup with the Crocketteers in San Antonio! Stay tuned on where they are watching it at http://www.crocketteers.com

It has been a pleasure to write this blog! I look forward to reading your blog from the World Cup one day!

Until then…

Oh, I almost forgot, since the USA are back home, I’m rooting for the Netherlands to take it all!

DDTJR