South African Stories #5: Stephen on Location

Our "Senior South African Correspondent", Stephen Craig, is on the ground in South Africa and here's his fifth and final update. Stephen is a member of American Outlaws: Austin Chapter.

This is just a short end cap that I am writing on Monday morning before work. Still jet lagged and sinuses have still not recovered from the lack of humidity, red dust and constant fires and smoke of South Africa. I am happily reunited with the family and there's nothing like three weeks away from Tori and Liam to recharge my husband and father batteries.

So lets get to it...

6/18/2010 - Algerian Awesomeness

Nice place you've got here.

We headed to the Voortrekker monument before the game in Pretoria. It was a fascinating place that I had never heard of. When the Brits ran the Afrikaners out of Cape Town they had to make the "Great Trek" to the Transvaal. It reminded me of the Mormons having to head west. Instead of Indians to fight the Afrikaners had to fight the Zulu. The trek for the Afrikaners and their settlement turned into a religious movement or manifest destiny. Thousands still gather on December 16, 1838 to celebrate the Battle of Blood River where 470 Afrikaners fought 10k Zulus and only had 3 men wounded. They think this was an act of god which at those odds they might be right! Now off to the game.

No one throws a party like an American Outlaws party.

Esfandiar joined us for the last match in Pretoria. It was a good add. Now we were 4 strong in the same section. We tried to join the American Outlaws at the bar but it was packed and after lunch we needed a buzz. We headed to the stadium and where greeted with not only Budweisers but Buds in cans that where poured into a cup. Good news is they went down fast, bad news is that tasted like they sat in the sun. As we walked around the stadium we found out they where cases and palates sitting in the sun. Nice job guys. Last good thing was since most of the the Algerian fans are Muslim they don't drink so we felt we had to drink two at a time...and we did our best.

Getting primed for the game.

What do you say about that game. We were freaking out in the stands thinking it was all over. When we scored it was pandemonium. The emotions where all over the place. Some crying and some laughing. I'm more of the laughing guy so I laughed and screamed like a crazy man. Esfan was going nuts too and with his USA wig it was cracking me up. Nigel and Kellie headed back to the bar and then the car and we followed shortly thereafter. I bet I made 10 calls back home that are going to cost me big but it had to be done.

Goooooooo0000000000000000ooooooal!!!!

I'll leave out most of my comments on the last game. If you don't have any real strikers with passion then we will never get out any further. Its time to find some inner city kids or some poor kids that worked their asses off to get there. This upside down way of building soccer in this country is just not going to get it done in my opinion but we will see. I'll be glad that heading to Brazil will not include a 7 hour change and a three continent jump. Start saving your money now and you can be there. I hear it over and over that people wish they could have gone. Its not that hard, just plan ahead. It is never cheap but anyone can do it. Tori and I did it right after we graduated. Its a great way to see the world, me people and other cultures and once you go to one you will go to many. See you there!

Hey! You! Take that down!

American Outlaws: Austin... see you for the Brazil game. Lets see what Coach Sweatpants has for the future of US soccer. Holden, Torres, Davies, Adu, et al will rock that shizzle!

Hope you enjoyed the ramblings,
Steve

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South African Stories #4: Stephen on Location

Our "Senior South African Correspondent", Stephen Craig, is on the ground in South Africa and here's his fourth update. Stephen is a member of American Outlaws: Austin Chapter.

This country is in heat!

I have to start off with the following. This country is completely on fire all of the time. Every time we go out and about and come home there is a grass fire close to the house. Thank god all the grass is finally burned. Even when driving into Joburg or Sandton you can see this haze of grass fire smoke over everything. It is very dry here. I have to put a bottle of water next to the bed just to pull off of as the night goes on. They say about 30% humidity is not out of the ordinary this time of year. They also have a very slow fire brigade. There really is no volunteer fire department so you have to put it out your self or wait for the brigade. That could take an hour at least so by then your house could be toast.


6/19/2010 - Mmmmmm..... Moroccan!

Let’s go back a couple of days. We were pretty tired after the Slovenia game on the 18th so we didn’t get organized for quite a while. Ben and Natalie asked if we wanted to meet at a Northern African style restaurant called Moyo. We looked it up on the GPS and headed into town. When we arrived at Melrose Arch we where a little confused. We quickly called Ben and he said that there were two Moyo restaurants and one was in Melrose Arch. They turned around and we just decided to meet in the square at MA. It was a great place to hang out and the square was fantastic.

We went into Moyo and it was really quite cool. We went down 3 levels to get to our table. It was like being in a cave and a Moroccan style restaurant. It was simply beautiful. Ben had to split by six to set up for his party. We decided to pass up the party (I’m kind of glad because it went on until 5 am according to Ben) because we had to get up kind of early to head to the African market in Rosebank. We then headed out to the suburbs to meet up with Evan and Nikki. This is the young couple that Nigel, Kellie, and Esfan met while I was fighting fires a few days earlier. After much driving and many phone calls we made it to their house and had a nice braai (pronounced bry, it's a South African BBQ) and many glasses of wine. We made it home by midnight so I was glad we could get in bed at a decent hour.

6/20/10 - South African Beers and Steaks

The next day we got up bright and early and loaded into the clown car and followed Alison into town. We arrived at the African market in Rosewood and strolled around and did some shopping. This gave Kellie a little time away from the boys to do her own thing. The market was attached to a really nice mall so Nigel, Esfan and I walked around and then found a pub/restaurant for beers and wine.

The beer here is not the best in my opinion, but Ben introduced us to Hansa Marza Gold. To me it is the best beer so far. I keep trying the Windhoek, but I just don’t like it. Now the wine here is top notch. We are all slowly turning into winos. Kellie met us for lunch and we had some good food. Now here is the difference in steak in SA and in Texas. They eat a rump steak and always put a sauce on it. One of the sauces is even called Monkey Gland. Ah…no thanks.

There's a way we can fit this in the living room, right?

The meat is good but it is not marbled like a rib eye. It's not bad, its just different, and that is what its all about when you travel. After the dinner we headed back to Melrose Arch (just a really cool area) and went to the second square with a big screen. Nigel and Esfan got us seats at a restaurant called Grand Central. The table was on the second floor overlooking the square so we could watch the games and do some great people watching. Our new Mexican friends Mauricio and Diego met us as well as Nick and we all had a good time just hanging out. We all headed back to the lodge and had a pretty fun dinner seeing we were all pretty primed. Alison bought a bottle for Findlandia Vodka for the young Finnish couple and they kindly let us all take a few shots of it. By the end of the last game I was pretty bushed.

6/21/10 - Elephants!

Hanging Tusk

It was another early wake up. A large group of us headed to the Elephant sanctuary. It was pretty cool. We got to get up close and personal with them. They really let you touch and handle the animals under there constant presence. They are truly amazing but it was a little unnerving.

I’ve seen all those FOX “When Animals Attack.” I made sure Nick was going to get slammed to the ground first while I ran the other way. It was an informative tour and hands on. We checked out another market on the way home and the rest of the day we are laying low, drying out and getting a little rest.

I watched the 7-0 drumming Portugal put on North Korea. Memo to North Korea, you suck. I’ll touch base with you all about the big Algeria match. I hope to have some good photos of the Apartheid museum tomorrow soon.

Until then!

What Stephen think of the US-Slovenia ref.

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South African Stories #3: Stephen on Location

Our "Senior South African Correspondent", Stephen Craig, is on the ground in South Africa and here's his third update. Stephen is a member of American Outlaws: Austin Chapter.

6/18/2010 - Slovenia Game Day

Well, I don’t feel too bad after our rip off tie with Slo-where ever the hell that country is. That ref is a complete idiot. I did hear that that ref is not going to get to call any more games, but we will see.

Ok, I got that off my chest.

We started the day off early. We were out of the house by 10ish and headed into Joburg. We made a quick stop at a nice mall to get some hat pins and do some window shopping. Alison then drove us as close as possible to Ellis Park Stadium.

Hanging with the locals.

Let me tell you. That section of town is a real crap hole. It reminded me of the opening of the TV show “Good Times.” Plight was in full effect. I had that astronaut feeling again. Everyone was staring at us as we walked to the stadium. It was a short few blocks so it wasn’t so bad. We got to the gates right at the opening. I think we were the first ones through. We were able to grab a quick bite for even more importantly we were able to get a table were we could see everything. Beer service started at 1pm so as soon as it opened we bought some delicious Budweisers.

Representin' American Outlaws: Austin

We took some good photos and made our way into the stadium. We had fantastic seats. Nick and Esfandiar had good seats too but where across the way a bit down from us. We had great fans around us and they were of all ages.


The first half was pretty crappy as most of you saw, but as soon as Donovan slammed home that first US goal Nigel and I did our best to spray Bud all over our neighbors below like we just won in an Indy car race. We cheered and sprayed the crowd again when Bradley scored the second goal.

Cheering on for more.

Then that douche of a ref called the foul that never existed. We went from complete joy to feeling like someone ripped our hearts out. What can you do? At least I got video of the last goal and tons of photos…that got erased somehow when we got back to the house. Think god Kellie had taken a ton of photos too. She gets the Jr correspondent gold star of the day. My hot wife Tori also let us know we where on TV so that is pretty cool too.

We drowned our sorrows in wine when we got back and the Mexican guys Diego and Mauricio made us take shots of tequila late in the night…yuck. I just can’t drink that stuff anymore.

Woke up and felt ok but we are going to try and hook up with Ben and Nat for a late lunch and maybe some sight seeing.

Talk to you soon!

Hanging out with the locals.

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South African Stories #2: Stephen on Location

Our "Senior South African Correspondent", Stephen Craig, is on the ground in South Africa and here's his second update. Stephen is a member of American Outlaws: Austin Chapter.

6/14/10 - Monticasino

Yesterday was a long one. We all got up fairly early and heading to Fourways. The rest of the group went there the night before and had a really good time. We got there at about noon and had some lunch and had a beer. There were a couple of guys that arrived for lunch. They were dressed like white collar workers and after a bit I asked if there were any other pubs or areas to hang out and meet other World Cup travelers.

Wayne (the big guy) said there was a place about 2km away called Monticasino. As the conversation went on the other guy Chris said that they had meetings all morning so they were pretty much done for the day. They started drinking double Jack and Cokes and Vodka and Lemon Dry. The shots here are a little smaller at 22mls so it is like a shot and a half, give or take. Nigel and Kellie decided to head back to the lodge and Esfandiar had to drive them so Nick and I rode with Wayne and Chris to Monticasino. Lots of nice cars here in SA and they had a Mercedes and a Nissan 370 sports coupe. We arrived at this amazing complex.

Survivors. 40+ shots later.

It was a like Vegas. Inside it was all shops and gambling with the façade of European style buildings. After you walk through you come to this giant open square. It was really nice. They had giant screen, great restaurants and shops. We got a table at one of the cafes and after about 10 rounds of shots and 43 vodka and lemon drys later between five people I was done. I was glad that Esfandiar came back half way through the drinking mission. He was our designated driver. The guys said that drinking and driving wasn't a problem. They said just pay them 200 Rand and it would be fine but I didn’t want to find that out on my own. People drive crazy here and also on the other side of the road so it takes some getting used to.

6/15/2010 - Big Cats

Hey buddy.... I bet I could beat you in a race.

We had an early wake up. Up by 5:45am to get a ride out to the Ann Van Dyke Cheetah Sanctuary. I felt fine at first, but during the ride that took about an hour I was getting a little car sick (Editor's Note: "car sick" riiiiight). I was glad to have arrived. It was really cold today. It was in the 30’s this AM and got to about 45 for a high and the wind was blowing like mad. It was at least blowing at 35-40 miles an hour at times.

The tour was great. We got to see the cheetahs run and pet them and saw many other animals. It was great fun, but we were all freezing by the end. Who thought that Africa could be so fucking cold? The ponds here had ice over them. I was glad to get in the van and get a coffee. I slept well after lunch and then chilled back at the Owl Lodge watching the games for the rest of the night. I did get to speak to Danilo’s mom (My South African friend who now lives in Austin) and she wants to meet up at some time this week or next. I’ll have to see what the plan is with the rest of the group.

6/16/2010 - "Big Bad Joburg," Castle Brewery, and the oldest bar in Johannesburg

I got a late call from Danilo’s friend Ben and he said he and his wife Natalie would show us around “Big bad Joburg.” We called them first thing in the morning and decided to head out at noon to meet them. All five of us crammed into our clown car and headed out. We put Nick in charge of the GPS and set south…well, we thought we were heading south.

Dan told us to head south on M1 and after looking at the map we decided he said head south on the N1. So we head first toward Rustenburg and with a little encouragement form Nigel I crossed the highway median and headed the other way. We then were in West Pretoria and found the N1 and headed south. We gave Ben a call and he said we were on the wrong road. So here we are in a tiny car going 130km an hour heading into Johannesburg. Esfandiar took over navigation and we found the BP station they were going to meet us at on the GPS and kept on cruising.

I want you to remember that I am driving a car on the opposite side of the road and the wheel is on the right hand side of the car. When you first try to put on your turn signal you turn your windshield wipers on and everyone gives you the business. It's good stuff.

Nelson Mandela Bride (with Cristiano Ronaldo creeping behind)

We finally find Ben and Nat and we follow them into New Town Joburg (Esfan and I can’t remember if it is New Town or Old Town). We crossed over the Nelson Mandela Bridge and parked just outside the Fan Park (the big area where people can watch the game). We were not in an area where most tourists go, but that’s why it's always good to have locals to show you around. We went to the South African Museum and checked it out.

After checking out some of the exhibits we headed to the Castle Brewery for lunch and a tour. We got to eat ostrich and drink some good beer and the tour was pretty cool. We even got to sample some sorghum beer. It was the beer that the local tribes made and drank during celebrations. They gave us a big pot to drink out of and then passed it to the next person. Haven’t these people heard of germs?! I got to go second so I didn’t care. When in Africa…The beer was not bad. It was very thick and a little sour. It looked like watered down glue.

Can I get one straight from here?

We made our way though and they then served us a small beer in the old SA part of the tour. It was a cross between Disney World and a museum that served beer. We also got to sample some of the beer before the tour so it was good all the way around.

Free Beer Movement... South Africa.

We headed next to the Carlton Center. This is the highest building in the south of Africa. Esfandiar paid the guys at the center so we could go up to the observation deck. It was pretty spectacular. We were the only ones up there so it was kind of surreal. There are large office buildings everywhere, but Ben said that most of them are now low-cost housing. While driving around downtown you didn’t feel like you where in danger, but I would not walk around at night.

I guess it's not so different from any other big city.

On top of Johannesburg.

It was also a different feeling to be a minority. It's about 90% blacks and maybe 7% whites so you can really feel the difference, but that feeling seemed to go away quickly. All the service jobs are done by the black population; from trash collection to the wait staff, to bartenders. It's kind of a trip.

Money goes a long way here. We had 14 people in our group last night having drinks and food and it came out to 1900 Rand. That’s about 250 bucks. At the beginning of the night I ordered three double gin and tonics (everyone does doubles) three Guinness and two big (they are European size at half liters) Hansamarzen Lagers and the total in dollars was $16.80. Crazy. Good wine runs about 70 Rand (less than 10 bucks).

Enough of that tangent…we next headed to The Radium. It is the oldest existing bar in Joburg at about 70 years old. We met lots of Ben and Nat’s friends and the bar was packed with excited South African fans ready to cheer on Bafana Bafana. It was a little hard to talk to the group because some of the group had the vuvuzelas and my voice has never recovered from the first game. It was kind of funny because those horns are almost solely used by the black population and not by the whites, so it seemed to be a novelty for the whites to be using them. It was funny but at the same time it shows the separation of the two cultures.

The best explanation I can make is if you took two groups of people and laid them on top of each other. They have to interact on a daily basis but at the end of the day there is no overlap. Whites have their world and culture and blacks have theirs. Esfandiar and I discussed that this might be because they are in their infancy with the end of Apartheid and they are still making their way forward in a sense.

How about some more drinks? Sure! The Radium.

Well, South Africa lost 3 –nil in their game and that pretty much cleared out the bar. We loaded up and headed home. It’s a little tough to party too hard here and I was the designated driver so I was a good boy and only had a couple big beers with dinner.

A really big day with Slovenia tomorrow so I’m going to lay low. Nigel and Kellie are heading to Monticasino and Nick and Esfandiar are going to the Cradle of Life. I’ll try to update as soon as possible, but it will probably be after the game tomorrow.

Stay thirsty my friends!

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South African Stories: Stephen on Location

Our "Senior South African Correspondent", Stephen Craig, is on the ground in South Africa and he's been checking in with updates for us. Stephen is a member of American Outlaws: Austin Chapter.

June 8th - Leaving the U.S.

We got to the airport and zipped through security. Got to chat up the ladies at the Continental counter and talked about the World Cup. One of the ladies was from Manchester so she really like the “Yanks vs Wanks” shirt I was wearing. Talked to two more gents in the security line and they both said they were jealous.

Is it wrong to say, “ I’m glad I’m the one that is going” and not the one that says, “Man, I wish I could go…I know this guy…”?

The airport is slow today and the beer is cold at Lefty’s. The rest of the crew should be here soon. I miss my wife and kiddo but I am taking the Coast Guard approach and am going to try to put them out of my mind. It sound a little cold but over my life I’ve learned that it is something I have to do to concentrate on the plan/job at hand. I hope to be able to Skype with them as often as I have time so it should be all good.

Next stop…Frankfurt.

June 10th - Germany

Frankfurt a day later. We got in with no problems. We were a little worried about the weather but it was all good. We all got to sit in business/first class so it was really nice. It makes you think how all the others afford it! Maybe its frequent flyer miles.

We had a layover for about 8 hours so Nigel talked us into heading into town by train. I’m glad he did. He is a more adventurous traveler and has no fear. We found the right train and a Pakistani guy helped us out. We still think it was a scam in some way but it got us there.

We stopped in the same station that we were in during the 2006 World Cup where we had to stop there for a few hours overnight and slept on the floor. It was cool to see it again. I’m told it is the second largest iron structure in Europe after the Eiffel Tower.

We walked down a way and found an Irish bar and had some food and drinks. We met a guy and his buddy and chatted them up. He was from New York, but he had lived in Germany and Europe for 15 years. He seemed a little rough around the edges and the dried blood in his nose told me this guy partied hard. He might have been the type of guy to pat you on the back now and knock you out later in the night and take your cash.

We made it back to the airport and got on our flight. The NY guy told us we needed to talk to someone about getting our money back for being charged for Business class, but getting a coach seat. Efandiar led the charge and argued with the lady at the South Africa Airways window for some time and we decided to cut our losses and just get on the plane. While sitting on our coach seats a lady came up to Esfan and I and said that we are changing seats and to go to first class. They also told this to Nigel, but there was only one seat. He gave it to Kellie and was a trooper and sat with the untouchables.

Living the high life in first-class.

First class is some amazing shit. Too bad I picked up a cold that is still with me today so it was very hard to sleep. We got to Joberg and was only slightly delayed by weather. Stepping off the plane to 45-50 degree weather was quite a change. It felt great after sweating for the last 24 hours because that is what I do.

Rob (half of our hosts) picked us up at the airport and after we got our SIM cards for our phones and our WC tickets we arrived a short while later at Owl’s Loft Midrand. It is truly beautiful and you get a wild feeling about it, like it is still untamed. Lots of blacks but not many whites out here. Just so much different from Austin. We have been napping and eating and relaxing in this great little spot. I hope to get my clock going soon so I can sleep. The next few days will be an adventure.

The crib.

June 12th - Game Day

Here we are on game day. As soon as I saw the sun hit the curtains in the room I popped out of bed and thought I was late...It was 8am. We don’t leave for Sandton until around 10 or so. Nigel made it to the South Africa vs Mexico game with the Mexican fans that are staying here and he said it was great.

We took it easy and just watched the games here and enjoyed a fantastic braai. I will do my best to get everyone caught up on the trip to Rustenberg tomorrow. The English Terry and Terry (son and father) are already saying it is going to be 10-0 England. I am hoping for a big US win!

We got a ride into Sandton and it was really nice. Mandela square is high end and big money. We hung out at one of the cafés and drank some cold beers and met other fans. Nigel was able to get some good photos as well as myself. We met the rest of the 350+ bus riders and loaded on to one of 5 buses and one small bus. We tried not to drink too much as we knew that Rustenberg was going to be a good 3 hour drive +/-. We where able to stop a couple of times for piss breaks. We used the sink so it helped people move though faster.

Roadside potty-time.

Representing AO: Austin (with fellow Austinite Neil)

We finally get to the stadium and it is literally in the middle of fucking no where. We have to drive through a little town that is more shanty town but everyone was having a good time and the locals where super friendly. Our bus was able to park close so it was not too bad of a walk at all.

The battlefield.

We all shouted at the English and they walked past the bus before we got out. It was good stuff. Nigel, Kellie and I worked our way into the stadium and crammed down a couple of beers before heading to our seats. We got to them about an hour early but it was fun to watch the people walk in and beer was readily available. It is easier to show photos than describe everything we saw.

The bottom line is we tied the game which was a big deal for the US. The trip back was long and Kellie and I were separated from Nigel but after some walking back and forth we finally found the bus. I mad the comment that the bus was not going to smell so fresh on the way back to Sandton and I am afraid I was correct. Wow, it was like a locker room after a Mexican buffet session. We got back to Sandton at about 3am and we were back at the lodge at 4am.

Nigel, AO VP Justin Brunken, Stephen, and Zach

June 13th - The Day After

Well, we survived. The trip to Rustenberg and back

certainly wore us out but it was worth it. All the Brits where talking major shit before and during the game and after they just made excuses. Pathetic. The draw is a good outcome for us and Altidore almost gave us the lead. That would have been something else.

Woke up at 10am and Esfandiar, Nick and I headed to the small airport and got a car to rent. It seemed to be the smart thing to do so we can get around the area. It is only about 120 bucks each for the whole time. I wish it had more than two squirrels for power.

June 13th Continued - Police!

On the way home we got pulled over at a police check point. I asked the lady what we did wrong. She asked for my drivers license and passport. She then asked me for 1200 Rand for a fine for not having an international license. I had Esfandiar call our host while I spoke to the lady. She explained that I, as a white, did not understand her job and that I needed to pay the fine right there. I told her to give me something in writing first and then I would take it to the magistrate and I would pay it there. After a little back and forth over the next 15 mins she let us go. I’m sure she thought she could get a fine out of the next person.

June 13th Continued - Grass Fire!

We got home and shortly thereafter Nigel, Kellie, Nick and Esfandiar headed into town for a little fun. I was having a beer and watching the games on the TV when I saw Rob (our host) running back and forth. I asked what the problem was and he said a fire was coming.

You have to remember that the whole lodge has a thatched roof and there is tall grass surrounding everything and it is the dry time of the year. I asked if Rob needed help and he said yes. We ran out into the fields with the workers and soon the British guys, Ken, Terry and Terry Jr came out too. They do not have volunteer firefighters in the country so its kind of everyman for himself unless you have good neighbors. We used some flat rubber squares on posts and used them to beat the fire out. It took us almost 2 hours, 8 people and a pair of tennis shoes that are now black to put it out. I would suggest wearing jeans to keep from burning your legs. I have an after photo of my legs. It was pretty crazy but quite fun and a good work out.

Grass fire. The white fence is the property edge of the place Stephen and company are staying at.

I’ll send this bit out and send more soon. TIA---this is Africa they say.

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