The World Cup is coming to a close and it has been a magicalmonth of soccer spiritualism. Withthree games left, the world is at its peak of soccer passion and the remainingteams are under the microscope as analysts, commentators and fans try topredict what will happen next. ---
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I watched today's match at El Paseo Bar & Grill and the place was filled to the brim with both SantaFe’s young and old. It appearsSanta Fe’s youth and young adults have finally gotten wise and now realize thatsoccer is the world’s hippest sport. The bar was filled with jobless20-somethings, the downtown suit crew on lunch break, and familiarfaces from my high school soccer career. Enjoying the finest brews on tap and New Mexican fare, the newfound aficionados cheered on Uruguay andNetherlands in Cape Town.
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The atmosphere was electric as the teams played to a 1-1draw at the half. The game thenbecame a real nail biter as Uruguay hunkered down into its defense andadamantly protected the goal, getting its chances on the occasionalcounter-attack. Then in the 70’Wesley Sneijer blasted a shot that deflected off a Uruguayan defender and intothe back of the net. Sneijernow has five goals in the tournament, tying him with Spain’s David Villa formost goals overall. Three minutes later, the decisive Dutch goalcame when outside midfielder Kuyt played a beautiful cross to superstar ArjenRobben, who with his bald head rocked it into the back of the net. The bar went wild and the vibrant Dutch“oranje” spotted the shady bar.
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Uruguay’s performance was admirable and it clawed andscrapped what it could for the remainder of the match and scored a goal instoppage time. The Netherlandswas able to hold on and now faces either Germany or Spain in the final. Tomorrow’s match is from Durban is oneyou do not want to miss. Thisis a rematch of the Euro Cup’s 2008 final, in which Spain defeated Germany 1-0. Butwith Germany playing as explosive as it is and Spain’s chemistry comingtogether, who knows what the final outcome may be. As the game came to a finish, cheers of “Que viva España” wereyelled as the crowd poured out onto Galisteo Street; I know the fans will mostcertainly be back tomorrow. ElPaseo at 12:30pm, be there it’ll be a fiestaor partei depending on which side you’recheering for.
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El Paseo Overall Score: 9/10 Golden Boots
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This will be an ongoing blog series with a new entry ortwo every week about a different restaurant or bar to watch the action. If you have any suggestions for SantaFe world cup venues by all means e-mail us at culture@sfreporter.com and put"world cup" as the subject.
