Before any games were started each member of our family (just for the record ALWAYS exclude Ellie from all the "every member of our family" she's not old enough to count in such manners) Anyway, we all had to go online to do our picks from the beginning all the way to the end. There was a scoring system to complex for my brain that calculated how each of us did. Some made decisions strictly on their numerical ranking in the world (Rachel), some made their decisions mostly using that with a little bit of bias on favorite players or countries (Harrison), some made their decisions after reading quite a bit online and using their rankings (Matthew), and some did massive amounts of research and new all the nuances of each team (John), and some just picked the prettiest flags sprinkling in a little common sense here and there, (Me).
After all that was done it was time for the first game to be played. My great husband took a day off work so he could stay home and watch the three games that day. Yes you heard me right! And USA wasn't even playing that day! Crazy guy!
After all the posters and spread sheets and graphs and anything else that was needed was hung on my kitchen wall they got up at 4:30 am and watched the first game. Yep you heard me right 4:30 am!!!
The crazy part is they did this for days/weeks. They got up every morning and watched the first game, then a little video games or jobs and then all stopped for the second game. Again add a little nap or play and then back for the third game of the day. I really expected this to be like the Olympics where it's fun the first couple days but then you really are ready to see a little something else on TV. Nope not my boys. Nothing could be watched that would interfere with the games. After taking the first day off many days John would go to work before the first game, watch it there and then work for hours until the second game and take a lunch to watch the game, then work for a few more hours then watch the third game and then work late that night to make up any hours. It was a crazy few weeks/month! They did it the entire time! They watched every game. I know I'm saying this more than once but it still shocks me to think about it! All conversations were about every game.
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One USA game my brother and Dad (who was visiting from Utah) went with Harrison and I to a local sports bar to watch the game on the TV's with other fans. It was a game that required us to be there at 6:30 am! I know crazy! We actually watched two games at once there. That was the trickiest stage for my boys as they played the games at the same time to ensure honesty but required flipping stations and much catching up online.
Then later John took Harrison to the same sports grill another day for an afternoon USA game and got to experience the fun there. Well once USA lost, most of the country lost interest. That is pretty typical of most "world events". You are in it for your country as much as the sport. But my boys did not die off like many. They watched and cheered. I can't tell you how many games my brother stopped by to watch with the boys, it really was so much fun to watch with someone who couldn't get enough of it, the excitement was infectious. They at times picked new team after new team as ones they likes were eliminated. You could ask Harrison just about anything about what group and such for any team and he could tell you the run down, what it would take for each team to make it to the next round. It was so fun to watch him so excited about it.
Well as vacation time came around we realized some of our plans had to change as we would be driving to Missouri during the 3rd place game and the final game. That just wouldn't do! How can you watch every single game and miss those two? So the great mom I am, we came up with an altered vacation to accommodate the games. We didn't leave town on Friday like we planned, we left after the 3rd place game on Saturday. The car was loaded and ready to go, once the game was over, the finishing touches were added and off we went. That put us leaving around 4 in the afternoon. We drove through the night and then stopped somewhere in Oklahoma at noon and hung out at a Buffalo Wild Wings for hours to wait for the game and watch the final game with the crowd. It was a blast!! Then we drove a little more, found a hotel for the night and then drove the final way into Missouri the next day. Yep I know who plans a trip around a sporting event??? Well it appears the answer to that is me.
And the much awaited questions and answers on our picks??
5th place was Matthew, Beating him by just a few points was Rachel for 4th. Harrison took 3rd with a significant leap from the last two. Next came John with a huge jump from Harrison giving him 2nd place. And with a 3 point lead over second place.....yep, the flags have it, I WON!!! What did I win? The privilege to say that here and everywhere we went for quite a while! It was a great prize!!! I also got the knowledge that it's four years before it takes over our house in quite the same way.
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