Oh where to begin! Over the last five weeks I have attended seven World Cup matches across five different cities in all three host nations. The craziest part is that I still have one more match to attend. I am going to do my best to collect and express my thoughts about ALL OF THIS and include as many pictures as I possibly can.

It all kicked off in Los Angeles for the USMNT’s opening match against Paraguay. I was fortunate to be able to get as many tickets as I possibly could through the FIFA lottery and last minute sales. Only two of my tickets were obtained through the secondary market. As you can see if it wasn’t for the roof, I would have been in the clouds at LA Stadium (I so wanted to type Sofi Stadium). You could even see the forum from where I was seated. I was already meeting so many people who had traveled from all parts of the country just to attend this match. The match ended in a 4-1 victory for the USMNT. A very nice beginning to this big World Cup trip.

The following week took me to Mexico where I attended matches in Mexico City and Monterrey. In Mexico City I attended the Colombia Uzbekistan match. The fanzone at Zocalo Square was awesome and the scenes at the match were insane. It was all Colombians and Colombia fans at La Azteca or Estadio de la Ciudad de Mexico. They were totally passionate with their chants and their drums. It was interesting to see the security on the streets too as police were dressed in riot gear. I also used this visit to Mexico City to catch Rush in concert, which was an awesome show.

Getting around Mexico City was a bit of a challenge as there were traffic jams, huge crowds on the streets and closed subway stations as well. To get to the Rush show I had to walk on foot at one point for over 30 minutes before finding a metro station by chance to take me to the venue. Situations like this make me grateful that I can speak a bit of Spanish so I can ask directions and how to buy subway tickets.

The next part of my Mexico visit took me to Monterrey Mexico. This proved to be a bit of a challenge. My flight from Mexico City to Monterrey had 3 hours 40 minutes delay which meant I was not able to watch USA take on Australia that day. Also after I landed in Moneterrey, there was a torrential downpour of rains and the streets were flooded. There were cars that got stuck and stranded. During my taxi ride, I was praying that we would get through it alright. I made it to my Airbnb but low and behold, the electricity was out meaning no lights and no A/C with the humidity and heat and the floors were damp with water. My host was completely gracious and set up an alternative hotel for me at no additional cost. Seeing the hospitality I was receiving first hand in Mexico motivated me even more to be a great host and ambassador for Seattle when I eventually made it back to the Pacific Northwest where I currently live.

El Rey del Cabrito. If you come to Monterrey Mexico, you HAVE to eat here.

The stadium of Monterrey was absolutely beautiful and probably my favorite stadium I attended during these past few weeks. The crowd got behind the Japanese fans and cheered Japan on. It was so much fun. The Japanese fans were so polite, wanting to share their popcorn with me and excusing themselves profusely when getting up and walking through the aisle. Just hilarious. Plus I made some new friends while in Monterrey, and we are already trying to plan a trip to the next World Cup in 2030.

After my week in Mexico I made it back to just north of Seattle where I currently reside and work. This is the part where I get back to my day job, but it was still World Cup time meaning matches in Seattle and Vancouver. The Bosnia Herzegovina vs Qatar match was a great match to attend. The Bosnian fans were totally passionate and took over Seattle with their chants and songs and even had Bosnian music playing in the bars after the match. It felt almost as if I was in little Bosnia Herzegovina on this day.

To complete the full three host nation experience I drove up to Vancouver to attend the Belgium vs New Zealand. Little did I know that I would be seeing Belgium play three (!) times during this World Cup. This visit to Vancouver was really really cool. I had my Liechtenstein football jersey on along with a Liechtenstein scarf and of course my University of Georgia cap. All of this is very important because of all the coincidental meetings, I met people from Liechtenstein! The suburb I live in is bigger than the entire country of Liechtenstein. I spoke German with these really nice people too.

On top of this I met New Zealand folk who saw my UGA cap and knew how to “call the Dawgs” all because they spent time in Atlanta and have friends there. Just totally crazy how small this world really is and how you can make immediate connections with people. It was really cool to hang and party with these New Zealanders before the match. Unfortunately, their team lost really badly to Belgium. After the match the celebrating Belgium fans put their arms around me, and I obliged and jumped up and down with them. Just a great atmosphere.

The scenes from Vancouver for Belgium vs New Zealand

The past two matches I have attended up to this point were here in Seattle. I got a ticket to the round of 32 match here and the round of 16 match here as well. I got these tickets in advance meaning I did not know at the time who was going to play.

It turned out I was going to see Belgium play for a second time and this time against Senegal. This was a CRAZY match. Belgium were down 0-2 with very little time in regulation but scored two very quick goals back to back to extend to extra time where they took the lead and won 3-2 on a penalty kick. This World Cup has been filled with game filled drama to say the least. Which is totally fun to watch as a neutral fan.

Pics from the round of 32 Knock Out match between Belgium and Senegal.

It was also a bit relaxing to walk around Seattle a bit and check out the scene. It was beautiful to see Mt. Ranier in the distance as well.

The seventh and latest game I attended is of course the match between Belgium and USA this past Monday . For this game I had compared prices on the FIFA site and the secondary market and decided to get one of those fancy hospitality tickets. These tickets give you a relatively good seat and access to a the hospitality village with free drinks and nice food and entertainment and also free gifts. I was starstruck to say the least.

I took advantage of the lounge to bring an extra beer and some bottles of water to my seat.

Before the match and at the beginning of the match (which was really the only good part of the match from a US perspective) the atmosphere was lively and VERY LOUD. The official measurement was 140 decibels. This was the loudest crowd out of all the seven matches I have attended up to this point. We were louder than the Colombians at La Azteca in Mexico City. No, that is not an exaggeration. I was at both matches. It’s a fact.

The pregame and early game atmosphere was electric. Unfortunately, that was the only real good part of the game from a US perspective as Belgium was the far superior team and beat the USMNT in more than decisive fashion at a score of 4-1. The Belgiens were dominant from the very beginning. Their fans were awesome and provided a lot of energy to them despite being vastly outnumbered in Seattle Stadium (I guess I’m allowed to call it Lumen Field now since there are no more matches scheduled here.)

It was still a very fun experience to be a part of this match. I want to sincerely congratulate the team from Belgium and wish them all the best for the rest of their tournament. Being in the middle of this match for the entire day I do have to admit that I was a bit oblivious to what was going on in outer circles and over the past day or so, I’ve come up to speed on some of the happenings.

I don’t write this blog to bring up controversies or start arguments. In fact I only ever write one post a year. But I am aware of some of the issues that were surrounding this game which involved a certain politician who will remain nameless on my sacred blog as long as I am in ownership of it. I do want to say that I completely understand some of the outrage from the international community in regards to the circumstances of this game. I am not going to go into the details of this since everyone should know what I am talking about.

I do want to say one thing as an American and especially as a global citizen. I am a global citizen. I was born and raised in the United States, I am of Indian origin, I have lived in three other countries outside of the United States, I speak German fluently, I am partially fluent in Spanish, and I have traveled to 38 countries outside of the United States. Needless to say, I feel I am qualified to say a few things to the international and football communities.

The USMNT and US Soccer and its players and coaches are not liars and are not cheaters. They have nothing to do with administrative decisions of FIFA or what a certain politician will say in public or say to another FIFA individual (who will also remain nameless as to not taint my sacred little space on ye ole internets). They are competitors and do their best to win and if a certain player is deemed eligible and fit, it is within their right to decide whether said player can play or not.

When I lived in Czechia 22 years ago, I was going to board a train home but the train was filled with Neo Nazi football hooligans who were taunting and slurring me and there were police in battle shields and automatic weapons on the platform protecting me and the general public. I did not board that train and had to wait over four hours to board the next train which was safe. To this day, I have NEVER characterized Czech football fans as racist or as Nazis. In fact I have gone to matches in Czechia and have been welcomed very warmly. I would never characterize an entire group of citizens or people based on a relatively small number of terrible individuals.

On a similar note I would never characterize the entire population of Germany based on some far right wing political parties or certain politicians. Ich kenne mich ziemlich gut mit Eurer Politik aus und weiß was dort läuft und wie es geht. ( Und nein, ich habe keine KI dabei benutzt, um eine schöne deutsche Übersetzung zu erfinden)

The point I am trying to make is that there are no cheaters involved directly with the USMNT or its fans. I can say personally, that I have been a terrific host to all the people who have come to our country to visit this World Cup. If you want to attack a certain politician or a certain FIFA individual, that is perfectly within order. I would actually agree with you in this regard.

But don’t you dare characterize the USMNT, its fans, its players and coaches based on the actions of those certain individuals. And if you do feel the right to insult me or any other person in this manner, you should be ashamed of the pathetic soulless ugly face you see every morning in the mirror.

Alright, enough with the negativity here! On to more happy thoughts. I am proud of the USMNT and at the same time I wish they would have played better this past Monday. I wish them nothing but the best moving forward.

Over the past few weeks I collected some cool free cups and even collected some beer bottles. In my opinion Monterrey Mexico did it best with the free stuff. They had the opponents’ names on the huge beer cup and gave more free stuff at the Coca Cola fanzone. In the US and Canada they just gave these cheaper looking aluminum cups, and the Canadian ones didn’t even list the opponents or dates. I love you Vancouver, but boo, boo! Red card to you. LA and Seattle, you get a yellow card in this regard.

And the hospitality lounge here in Seattle gave some awesome postcards and an awesome mini flag/headscarf thing. After VAR review and article 27.500.90.76 blah blah blah, yellow card has been lifted from Seattle.

Those postcards look good on my Persian rug, don’t they? And those cups just look sexy next to a toaster oven, don’t they?

So the World Cup has ended for the USMNT and it has also ended for the city of Seattle as well. I made sure to get one more glimpse at Seattle Stadium as the sun was setting before it gets reverted back to Lumen Field.

But the World Cup is NOT over! There are still great teams left and great matches to play. And there is one more match for me to attend. I am going to the Final in New York/New Jersey.

It was always my dream to attend a World Cup since I first watched the World Cup on television as a 10 year old when I was visiting India. We watched West Germany win at 3 am against a Maradona led Argentina team.

I truly fell in love with the World Cup as a college student in Germany in 2002 as I watched all the matches in our student bars with our international community of students and partied outside on the streets and in the parks. That year Germany made it to the Final which they lost against Brasil. People from Germany, Türkiye, and Brasil all partied together after the match. Those scenes still bring a tear to my eye all these years later.

I am sure I will be seeing similar scenes on 19th July in New York.

I do a great job of posting only once or twice a year, don’t I? It’s hard to believe the year is half way done. The second half will be the most fun. I am going to Belize and have trips to New York and Los Angeles planned. Also there will be a few NIN concerts and of course college football season will kick off soon.

Exciting times ahead. Just gotta keep working for now.

After coming back from Switzerland a few weeks ago, we still have a few warm days of weather left before the Fall officially comes which will make way for a winter. I am definitely ready to get back to skiing soon. There will still be some rock climbing to do before the rain comes back again in the Pacific Northwest.

I also have a trip planned to Colorado in a few weeks and definitely hope to see some fall colors there too.

It’s hard to believe that almost 25 years have passed since Woodstock 99. As some of you may know, I got to “work” as a t-shirt vendor there. I put “work” in quotation marks because it wasn’t really work.

In recent years there have been a few documentaries come out about Woodstock 99, and just like that I’ve gone down this Woodstock 99 rabbit hole which has led me to various Youtube videos and ultimately listening to survivor stories on Podcast 99.

So many things have happened these past 25 years. I have always been a person to stay in the moment and focus on the now and move forward especially all the way back then when I was 19 years old. I usually don’t like being nostalgic and looking back on past times, but this time I’m making a small exception.

It’s hard to believe that I was once this long haired college dude with ear piercings and a goatee. I just wanted to meet new and interesting people and gather new life experiences since I was no longer bound to the small southeast Georgia town I grew up in.

Woodstock 99 was one of those experiences to say the least. This was billed as the biggest concert event to end the century/millennium/whatever.

Being a t-shirt vendor at Woodstock 99 was a really cool way to experience the festival. I got to see a band each night I worked. To this day Red Hot Chili Peppers is the only band I have seen in four different decades, and who knew my first Chili Peppers show would feature a blue haired fully nude Flea. lol

Since I worked the night shift as a t-shirt vendor, I was oblivious to the horrible conditions the concert goers were subjected to. Even during the sunlight I didn’t really notice much in the change in tone of the event. It’s still hard to believe that I was feeling comfortable and having a fun time while people were suffering in the heat and getting pissed off.

It’s amazing to think about all the things I have done and seen since that summer of 1999. That was the final summer I was monolingual since I started learning German during the fall semester of 1999 at the University of Georgia.

I would later go on to study and live in Germany and then work in the Czech Republic and travel to over 30 countries on five different continents. And I went on to become a physician. And then I became an avid skier and rock climber.

It is so strange to look back on 19 year old me and look through all these pics and newspaper clippings I haven’t even looked at in well over 20 years.

I know that Woodstock 99 ended very terribly, and this should certainly be documented, and we all need to learn from this. It really is too bad that something with so much promise and hope turned out to be a miserable experience for countless others.

With that said, I think I ‘ve reflected on this enough for one blog post. Cherish the moment you have now and look forward to new things. That’s what 19 year old me would tell the 44 year old dude typing all this out now.

Before you know it, this year will go by way too fast. I recently got to enjoy skiing on my birthday in Park City, Utah. And the sunsets over the mountains there are always the best.

I look forward to getting back there in a few weeks.

It has been a nice start to 2024 even though I didn’t get to see UGA go for a threepeat. I spent some time in Whistler Canada skiing and am ready to tackle this year head on.

After ski season, I definitely want to get back into rock climbing and hiking, and I hope to get back to Europe in the summer. In a few weeks I get to turn double 4’s in the age category, and I’ll be doing that while skiing in Park City.

As you can see there is still some fun and adventure out there before the Fall comes again. Speaking of Fall, besides the college football season, I actually want to travel back to the middle east in particular the UAE to see what it is like there in half way decent weather that is not too hot.

I’ll do a few more trips here and there too and go see some concerts too.

Let 2024 be a nice year for all of us.

Before you know it, it will be 2024 soon, but there is still a lot of 2023 left. I still plan on getting to 30 ski days before April comes. And I am happy to say that I am planning on visiting India in July. It has been almost 5 years since I was last in India. Definitely long overdue.

I am also planning on vising Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Bali, and Singapore during my travels this summer. After this trip this will bring my visited countries total to 35. We’re gonna’ try to get to 50 during my lifetime!

Well, we begin 2023 the same way I started 2022 one year ago. I started the year finishing my ski trip in Colorado only to fly to the national title game again and watch my beloved University of Georgia Bulldogs win again.

Wow! What a way to start the year and what a dominant performance from my Dawgs. It was really great to chill at Hermosa Beach and catch up with alumni and friends in the days before the game too.

As you can tell from the first pic, I pulled out the Dawg Vader outfit again just like I did in Indianapolis last year. Unfortunately, the Sofi Stadium security did not allow me to bring my helmet into the stadium (I was able to store it in a locker for $20). So I was left helmet-less and light saber-less for the game.

In the past days I’ve watched a few highlights of the game, and ironically the Sofi Stadium security let this fan wear a Mandalorian helmet in the stands.

Anyways, there are bigger problems in the world, so I just feel fortunate and blessed to have been a part of this game and watch my University end the season on top once again. Aside from the stupidity and hypocricy of the Sofi Stadium staff, I had an awesome time and got yet another chance to witness my team win it all.

And after the game was over, I was able to get my helmet and light sabers back and dance in the rain.

And in case the video feature is not working on whatever you are viewing this with, here is a low quality grainy 80s style cable quality pic of me after the game.

I hope everyone is starting off 2023 great. Go Dawgs!

I just had to include a pic of Mt. Ranier from one of my favorite climbing spots in Washington. I can’t believe I was in Europe just over 6 weeks ago. And in one week I’ll be in Colorado visiting friends and hopefully climbing. I’m going to see Nine Inch Nails at Red Rocks too.

And of course the most wonderful time of the year has arrived. College football will start up soon and my Georgia Bulldogs are defending champs. Hopefully, they can repeat.

In October I plan on going to Mexico City to see Rammstein in concert, and I’ll make my way to Athens Georgia as well to see my old university and go to the Auburn game.

Summer will wind down in the coming month and fall will be upon us. I’ll probably be skiing soon again as well.

Well, I think the title speaks for itself. I will be headed back to Germany in two weeks, and I will use my three weeks on the European continent to spend a week in Iceland as well. This will mark country number 29 on my list of countries that I have visited.

I know the world is an unfortunate crazy place at the moment, and before deciding to come to Germany, I had spoken to a number of friends there about how they feel about me visiting. The vast majority of them told me to come visit. I think with everything that has been happening in the past few years, I find myself needing to get out of the U.S. to travel a bit just to keep some sanity.

This will be the only trip I will be making outside of North America this year. I would love to get down to South America (especially Argentina) this year, but due to time and expenses and other plans it won’t be possible at least this year. I still need to try to get back to India as well.

I’m happy to be fortunate enough to be able to travel to western Europe in the next few weeks. A lot of friends and new adventures await. I am even going to catch Beatsteaks and Die Toten Hosen in concert while in Germany.

Alles geht weiter!