Finally, the 1st round of the World Cup is finally over and I can get some well deserved rest (and it is well deserved). I've left Togo for the final time and am taking a few days to explore the Volta region of Ghana although I'm trying to get back to Accra in time for the Ghana v Brazil match on Tuesday.
Ghana seems to be in a state of party at the moment. Many people are wearing their flags as scarfs or bandanas, vehicles are adorned with gold, red and green and many pesky whistles and horns are constantly being blown, much to my annoyance. I watched the Ghana v USA game in the National Conference Centre; the screen was not in Independence Square as the sunlight rendered the porjector useless. The atmosphere in there was electric!! They all went crazy when Ghana scored first and shut up when the US equalised. The penalty sent the fans into some crazed frenzy. As soon as the final whistle went, everyone started dancing (including me) and cheering, shortly spilling outside into a spontaneous procession of Ghanaians drumming singing and dancing. Managed to get a few good short vidoe clips and pictures before I was grabbed and made to join in. For the people watching, seeing a white man in the midst of all this was hysterical and many were cheering me on (or was that laughing at me?). History was certainly made on Thursday afternoon and I was fortunate enough to be there. Might even get my face on TV!
Talking of that, I reckon that my ugly mug might have made it onto the French channel Canal+ as they had cameramen where I have been watching the Togo matches and for every match, a cameraman would always get close up to me with his camera in my face. I doubt I shall ever find out. Lome was always going to be in a more subdued mood than Accra. Although they were excited about the prospect of Togo beating France and thereby knocking them out of the World Cup, the knowledge that they were not going to progress was self-evident. The processions of cars and bikes draped with national colours and crazed people was noticeably shorter. The crowd did not get that worked up during the national anthem or pictures of the Togolese starting 11. Admittedly, as time ran down with the score at 0-0, people started to get excited. From the people I had spoken to prior to the match, they really did not want the French to win. It all went rather flat when the first goal went in and some stormed off after the second. There was some appluase at the end for the efforts of the Togo players but was a bit muted. There was also some bemusement when Thierry Henry decided to swap shorts, not shirts, with Salifou (no. 7) of Togo. Within 30 mins, life on the Togo streets seemed pretty much back to normal with the usual hustle of Lome evenings.
Ghana are now the only African team left in the competition and don't they know it. With Brazil playing much better in the 2nd half against Japan, I think they'll soon realise that 2 good results do not make a good team.
