7 [Insert Expletive] - 1

Well that wasn't meant to happen!  I mean I was reasonably sure that Germany would beat Brazil with or without Neymar but seven goals, the first five in such quick order that it wasn't clear if we were watching action replays!

We'd made our way down to the Fan Fest site on Copacabana beach and got ourselves a spot, near the back (fortunately, as it turned out) but with a good view of the screen.  Even as we waited, ominous black clouds rolled in, veritable portents of the disaster that was to unfold. 

Buying the latest in with the in-crowd-chic rain-gear from the "capa" vendor, and convincing ourselves that these were more stylish than garbage bags, we braced ourself for the storm.

 And in rolled the goals.  The first, so straightforward a tap-in from a corner that it didn't seem real but if that was surreal, a total state of shock and numbness came over the crowd as four more went in within 18 minutes, two of them with such astonishing rapidity that the coverage and the crowd could not work out what was happening.

Suddenly, there was a roar, but it was nothing to do with the football.  It was a wave of people screaming and running.  And it looked like they were running for their lives!  We, as I say, were luckily at the back, so we had time to join the fleeing throng without too much panic - more just a state of bewilderment but as gunshots sounded, it became clearer!

People stream away from Copa

Lines of police (and there were many of them about) were making their way down towards the waterfront.  Most people seemed desperate to get onto buses and taxis and just get of there.  Apparently, and I only found this out the next day (in the SMH ironically enough), there had been a mass robbery by one of the armed favela gangs. 








In the meantime, having walked a couple of blocks behind the beach, we stood with some stunned locals to watch the end of the game.  In fairness to the spectators, with the exception of one guy who was really very upset and/or very drunk, they all stayed to the end and applauded the German performance, which, lets face it, will go down in history as one of the all-time great world cup displays. 

This morning though, while more subdued, the city is more back to normal.  As I sip my coffee and read about yesterday's events, sporting and otherwise, I hear a couple of locals laughing and you know that despite "the national disgrace" and "the great shame", for most people, life goes on.