Soccer SuperFans

By: Lauren Belle, London, Ontario

Is it bad I am writing this blog a day after Germany's advancement due to the fact that I am exhausted from celebrating?? I think not!! Ole, Ole, Ole, Oleeee !!!!

I am not going to lie. I was quite nervous going into the game yesterday. Not because Ghana is a better team - mind you they did hold their own throughout the first round, but because I don 't think Germany has been playing to their full potential.

With all the injuries and yellow cards, I really thought it would be a tough match. To an extent I was right, as we only slid by Ghana with one goal but it did prove to be a great day to celebrate!!

 As per usual, we all got down to the German Canadian Club around 1:30 PM.

I thought because it was a mid afternoon game on a Wednesday it wouldn't be that busy.

I was wrong, this game drew out a bigger crowd then last time and people were falling over each other.

Much of the same people, dressed in the same black, red and yellow gear - only difference was some had the beloved Vuvuzelas in hand rather then a German flag. Let me tell you, these are even more annoying in person. I'll take the television version any day!

I don't have much to say about the game really, I found it only to be exciting because going in it was a need win for us. The first half was uneventful, slow going and lacked the intensity I have seen in previous matches.

The game's only goal came in the 60th minute when Oezil found the net with a hard, left-footed shot from just outside the top of the penalty box that beat Ghanaian goalkeeper. With the victory, we came out on top, finishing in Group D with 6 points and Ghana with 4 points, respectably.

We won, and that is all the matters - especially for us Germany fans. We ended up bolting out of the German club immediately after the game and at least 10 cars lined up in a row, flags waving,

Vuvuzelas blowing and fans a screaming and we took it all to downtown London where we drove up and down the main strip with our heads held high.

Now THAT is what I call fun!!!!

Now comes what we all want to talk about, Germany's next match against our old foe England on Sunday. This is a hard game for me to predict. As a fan and a supporter, of course I believe Germany will win but based on the last 2 performances, I am self-critical enough to realize that the performance will not be sufficient for the England game, and that goes for all parts of the team.

I DO however believe nerves played a part in the Ghana game, with the possibility of Germany facing an early exit from the tournament if things went wrong.

But like any other performance, Germany always seems to learn from their mistakes and they end up going in stronger and harder then their previous match.

Mind you, England has not been at their best in South Africa either, and they also faced a nervy final group match against Slovenia before sealing their spot with a 1-0 win. But our youthful 23-man squad is littered with defenders who are as comfortable at playing at fullback as they are in the centre.

Moreover, we have Klose back and along with Podolski up front - they have scored a combination of over 80 goals in international matches. Let's just hope with Schweinsteiger's thigh injury he isn't forced to sit out this ultra important game.

I'll be praying to the "soccer God's" extra hard over the next few nights.

Best of luck to both teams, Deutschland für die win  !!!!