VAMOS ARGENTINA EN LA COPA MUNDIAL!!!

WE'RE IN THE QUARTER-FINALS BABY!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!
That's right...en la Copa Mundial, or the World Cup, we have now made it to the quarter finals, and the entire nation is celebrating. Here are some kids from church in a drama last Sunday where they were displaying their support for the Argentine team in the World Cup. And here is my Argentine blanket that I just finished in time for the Mundial...I like using it to wrap around me when I'm watching the games!!! The truth is, I have never really been a soccer fan...at all. One of the things that worried me about being in Argentina was my lack of knowledge or interest in this sport which seems to rank above religion to a vast majority of the population. (Not to those in my church of course!) However, I have learned that if one is ever going to learn about the game there is no better way or time than to be in Argentina during the World Cup competition. Talk about something that unifies an entire nation...and brings it to a halt at the same time. Everyone in the country literally stops whatever they are doing...work included...and watches the games. For the first round game between Argentina and Serbia on June 16th I was at the heart of downtown Buenos Aires with a team from Texas taking them shopping for souvenires. The streets were dead...but if you stepped in to a McDonald's or any shop with a TV there were crowds of people huddled about. And whenever a goal was scored, everyone knew it!! During that particular game there was plenty of celebrating because Argentina won 6-0 over Serbia! :) Woohoo!!!! Go Argentina!!!
Yet what followed was even more amazing. As soon as the game ended, people began pouring into the streets, all in Argentine jersies and waving flags, jumping around and shouting...blue and white paper began to fall from the sky as people in the tall apartment buildings showered those in the streets below in celebration. It was breathtakingly amazing!! Traffic was stopped on some of the through streets as fans filled the streets shouting cheers and waving flags. Here's one pic that Leslie snapped of the scene. Of course, we being the good missionary girls that we are had to fit right in by dressing up for the occassion. It is habit now to try and wear something light blue and white, if not an official jersey, on a game day.So, in the midst of this culture that is so fanatical about futbol, I'm learning quite a bit and actually following the World Cup for the first time in my life. Argentina started off by playing Ivory Coast on June 10th and won 2-1. Then was the game against Serbia-Montenegro where we killed them with the 6-0 score. Finally on June 21st we played Netherlands for the last game of the first round and tied 0-0. (I'll admit it felt like a waste of time watching the whole game and never seeing a single goal!) Luckily, this game was not quite as essential since our entrance into the second round was already assured.
But today the real stress began as we moved into the single-elimination portion of the competition. Our first opponent...Mexico. The time...4:00pm.
I went to the Ellis's house to watch the game along with the DiTrolio family. We set up with the projector and got our snacks ready...soon it was 4:00 and the game began! Though some said Mexico would be an easy team to beat, tensions quickly rose when in the 6th minute of the game Mexico made the first goal. YIKES!!! Qué pasó? But luckily Argentina came back and tied up the game in the 10th minute. And so the score stood, 1-1. And stood. And stood. It seemed like nothing could break this tie...Argentina's team was floundering beneath the onslaught of the Mexican defense that held them at bay. But the fight went on. We all began to get very worried. If Argentina lost, that was it, we'd be out of the World Cup. The game time ended and went into 2 silver overtime...I learned that that means we had 2 sets of 15 minutes left to play, and since it was silver than it wasn't sudden death. Gold overtime means you play sudden death. So we were in silver and within about 6 minutes of the first 15 minutes Argentina scored! WOOHOO!!!! We were so happy!!!We were even calling up Leslie, who is now back in the States, so that she could cheer along with us. The poor girl had been watching the game on a restaurant TV in Washington when they kicked her out because she was only watching the game and not eating there. (How horribly inconsiderate of them!!!) In this picture Carol is actually on the phone with Leslie right after we made our second goal. And, luckily, we were able to hold Mexico off for the rest of the overtime, ending with a win over Mexico of 2-1. Everyone was so excited!!! We made it past that game and are now in the Quarter Finals. The entire country is celebrating...which can easily be heard as fireworks go off and people honk their car horns. It's amazing how much a simple game like soccer can unify the entire country for a time. :)
With this game down, everyone's eyes look to our next match. Friday at noon. GERMANY!!! Great, put us up against the host nation!! Well, it'll be tough...much more interesting, I fear, than this last match. But for now, there is much to celebrate and more hope than ever in the people's hearts. Our guys played well and it's time to enjoy where we are and how far we've come. :) VAMOS ARGENTINA...A GANAR!!!