The Celebration

I thought we did it.
When the ball went from DaMarcus Beasley’s foot and into the back of the net, I thought the mountain had been climbed. In fact, the 50 or so Americans I was with Saturday night in Prague thought the same thing.
But at some point in our celebration we came to realize that Beasley’s 65th minute strike, which would have given the U.S. a 2-1 lead, was called off because of an offside call. The moment felt of dejection, but nothing like the utter disappointment we all experienced when Italy scored the opening goal.
There was a great sense of accomplishment once the match was through – a well-deserved 1-1 draw – and we all understood the scenario awaiting the U.S. next match. It was then time to celebrate the historical achievement – the first American point earned after losing all eight matches previously played in a European hosted World Cup. We did, to the tune of seeing the sun rise in Prague.
At one point we became a little too loud in our parading in the streets and I, along with another member of our traveling party, was warned by a local police officer.
Aside from the nonstop praise we showed to our national team, the most interesting part of the night might have been paying for food or drinks wherever we went. Since the Czech Kron – the country’s money – has such a weak exchange rate, you end up getting huge bills. I was walking around with bills of 100 and 200 Kron, and even had one valued at 2,000 earlier in the day. You quickly realize how little that number actually is since every purchase requires hundreds at a time.
Now I’m off to see the sites after missing most of the day by sleeping in past 3 o’clock. There’s a castle to view and bridge to walk over – at least those are two of the stops we’re making – and then who knows. A train tomorrow to Berlin is on the horizon, but I want to take advantage of the hours in Prague I have left.