CONTEST ENTRY BY @chenty ON UNFORGETTABLE WORLD CUP MATCH

Hello fellow steemians,

It gives me absolute joy to be able to share this experience with you all.

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To say I have just one unforgettable world cup match would be a big lie since I reminisce about Ghana's 2010 match Vs USA and Ghana's 2010 match Vs Uruguay.

But I always choose the latter because of its aftermath in my country till date. The build up to the world cup game between Uruguay and Ghana was much anticipated since it was a quarterfinal match and a chance for us Ghanaians to get our hands on silverware after our heroics in the knockout stage.

I was about 10 years of age and u can just imagine how funny I looked always chanting "black stars do or die" as it was a very popular saying but who could blame me when it was my dad who encouraged the noise after buying me a vuvuzela.

I laugh anytime I remember him supporting me whenever my mom complained of too much noise. I didn't know anything about football but was very much vested in this because of the love my people showed the national team ( black stars of Ghana).

The love even grew stronger when the black stars managed to defeat USA in the round of 16 tie. As a result, nerves and tensions were high even before 2nd July 2010 the auspicious day of the most unforgettable world cup match; uruguay vs Ghana.

The lead up to the game could be matched to an independence day celebration because the scenes were just unbelievable. The Ghana flag was flying high everywhere, people were buying the national team jerseys, purchasing Ghana flags, handkerchiefs, vuvuzelas and so much more just to show the love. This was probably my first and last time seeing Ghanaians that excited about a football match.

The love was simply just unmatched. Some people from my community flew to Brazil and even live scenes from Brazil showed how together we all were.

After days of much anticipation and prayers, the day finally arrived were Ghana had the chance to earn the bragging right of being the first ever African country to qualify for the semi finals of the world cup. Almost everyone was seen in a Ghanaian jersey flying the national flag ahead of the 6:30 pm kick off. All television sets were tuned to the live action amidst the loud chants and noises.

I said my prayers and quickly ran towards the community center to join the fun. Just imagine having your lights turned off 30 minutes to kick off, annoying right. Thinking about it now, it's surprisingly funny but this lasted for about 5 minutes convincing everyone it was done as a tease.

Kick off time finally arrived and the centre immediately went mute as if it we were in a cemetery. I remember the first few minutes being very nervy as Uruguay were in control of the game tempo and almost got a goal from a corner. The black stars slowly grew into the game and almost took the lead from a free header that went wide getting us all from our seats.

Reactions from my dad during the match was funny especially when someone missed a chance or misplaced a pass. I still remember the joy and celebrations from my people when Sulley Muntari scored that stunning strike from a distance just before halftime like it was yesterday. But nothing makes me remember that goal than the players beautiful dance celebration which was mimicked by my people.

It was as if we were expecting that celebration. Together with my dad and some others, we went to perform our final prayer and came back for the second half. Our joy didn't last long as our goal was cancelled by Diogo Foland's beautiful free kick goal. My people ridiculed our goalie for that keeping that out and at this point we knew we had a really tough game on our hands.

What makes me remember this game so much is that I was dozing off amidst all the drumming and singing. My dad wanted me to go in and sleep but I remained adamant.

90 minutes went by without a winner and we had to sit through extra time. The cheers grew stronger and louder but wasn't merited until the dying minutes of the second half of extra time when Luis Suarez committed a handball to keep our ball from the net. We scream at yelled at the each other because we thought that ball had already gone it but it was given as a penalty and Suarez was sent off.

I was very nervous about the penalty kick because Asamoah Gyan wasn't really a good penalty taker. He beat the keeper and hit the woodwork and the final whistle blew. What makes this so infuriating is that Suarez was crying whilst leaving the pitch but when Gyan missed his spot kick, he jumped with excitement knowing he had saved his country.

We put our hands on our head in utter surprise with nothing to say except negative words for Asamoah Gyan. He was insulted and ridiculed before my dad took me home since he couldn't sit through the penalty shootout.

We got home and I quickly went to bed because I didn't want to know if we lost or won. I woke up the next morning and immediately realised we lost because of the silence in my area. I watched the highlights of the penalty shootout and I'm glad I didn't sit through the shoot out.

What makes this experience so unforgettable is that Ghanaians blame every single thing that happens in Ghana on Gyan's penalty. The likes of beefs between musicians, bad governance, disrespect and so much more is blamed on that penalty.

It's sad sometimes considering the goals he's scored for the country. There hasn't been any international match like that in Ghana since the 2010 world cup and most people including myself have stopped showing the team love because we don't want to get heartbroken again.

These are the reasons I can't forget this world cup match.
Thank you for reading my post.

CC;
@njaywan