And Then There Was One...

At last we were down to the final 2, a German side that had swept Brazil aside and a dogged Argentina that had, in contrast, seemed to have had to battle through all of their games.

The experts on the street were tipping Argentina, although they weren't what you would call impartial observers.

How can you not believe him?

Seeking Divine Intervention

Rio was now full of Argentinians.  Many had apparently driven 40 hours to get here.  The yellow shirts of Brazil had been replaced by a sea of blue and white stripes and they had been heading down to the beach all day, arms loaded with musical instruments and cases of beer.

Rio Fan Fest Main Screen

We decided to watch at the second screen at the fanfest, as this was the easiest one at which to get a viewing spot, although it was smaller than the main one.  This of course assumes that it's working, which wasn't the case at one of the earlier games!  There were no announcements or signs - just a few thousand baffled spectators!







Somewhat surprisingly, the fan fests haven't been the greatest here.  Neither of the screens are large enough, or high enough, for the tens of thousands of people watching, especially when everybody has to then make their way down the beach to the one working screen!

Second screen - sure it was bigger before...

This time fortunately, the screen was on although, to me, it looked like it had been replaced with an even smaller screen.  Of course, I could have just been standing further away...  In all seriousness though, we had no idea what was going on.  We never saw Argentina's goal ruled offside and so watched the game assuming they were leading!  We were somewhat surprised when it went to extra time! 

Off-field drama this time had featured three people being fished out of the ocean by helicopters and the crowd being subjected to the surging raids of gangs of children.  There would suddenly be a lot of movement in the crowd and the next thing you knew, there were scores of children running into the crowd.  They would tear in and then a few moments later, you'd see them all racing back down the beach, no doubt having snatched something from some unfortunate soul.  After a few such forays, the police made their way down towards the water and then the hunters became the hunted, as they melted into the crowd to avoid detection, anxious eyes over their shoulders.  There was a visible feeling of relief as people could just get back to watching the match.

Eventually, as everyone knows, Germany scored a beautiful goal to hit the front in what had become an attritional struggle.  One last free kick from an exhausted looking Messi sailed over the bar - so no Messi-anic miracle this time - and with it went any lingering Argentinian hopes.  So, to the great disappointment of the vast Argentinian contingent, the great joy of the suddenly audible German contingent and, no doubt, to the great relief of the Brazilians, who had been dreading their arch-rivals winning on their home turf, Germany were world champions.

 As the crowds made their way off the beach, one woman was shouting "Go home!" at the Argentinians and on another street, the owner had thrown open his balcony doors and was playing "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" at full volume.  So, not quite the perfect hosts, and, later, as annoying as they might have found the Argentinian fans, I think they'll find this kind of joy rather hollow!

For us, we're now in Salvador, 2 hours (by air) north of Rio.  It has a nice old town with cobbled streets - even our hotel was built in the 17th Century -  and it's a great place to relax, because, you know, this has been hard work!  And, for me, that will be it.  We'll have one more night in Rio before returning home.  So, I'll sign off now and thanks for putting up with my ramblings!