Brazil vs Norway

We drove 4 hours north to see the Brazil vs. Norway game. The game was a sell out in the Wolfsburg Arena that seats about 25000. Most of the fans there were supporting Norway though there was a very vocal yet small Brazilian following. The stadium is beautiful but it was cold and rainy.

The Norwegians played well in the beginning but then the world´s best player Marta scored the first goal. The goal should have been disallowed because she fouled the Norwegian defender to get to the ball. So she cheated to score that goal. Therefore it was unfair that Brazil took a 1-0 lead.

It seems like the Norwegians had decaffeinated tea at half time because they were half asleep at the beginning of the second half. Brazil scored two quick goals. And if Marta cheated to score the first goal, she showed her brilliance in the second two goals. She scored one herself and had a wonderful assist in the other. So that sort of evens out the cheating in the first half. This is perhaps similar to Maradona´s goals against England in the 1986 World Cup (the "Hand of God" goal and his priceless run through the English defense). Perhaps Marta´s foul could be called "the Push of God".

Karen and I actually did not see those goals live. We were in line at the concession stand (not much Germany efficiency there I must say. Very slow service...) waiting for our pretzels but we saw the goals on the monitors by the concession stands.

Even though Brazil won 3-0, it does not give a good sense of how equal the teams were. A more just result would have been 2-1 or 1-0. And I am not just saying this to stick with my Norwegian cousins....

After seeing Brazil today, I still think the US has the best team in the tournament.

We will be gong to the Netherlands for a few days so we may not be blogging as much. Our next game is on Wednesday when we return to Wolfsburg for USA vs. Sweden. Our seats for that game are directly above the benches to the left of the journalists. So the tv cameras should be right at us. The girls will be wearing their red wigs and Dr. Seuss hats so look out for us again!