I got the magic stick

Quick thoughts from Day One of the Cup:

- Nothing beats watching the host country on a big screen with 20,000 or so of your local Munchers. As my brother said, you could almost smell the B.O. back in America.

- The tournament motto should change from "A Time to Make Friends" to "A Time to Get Drunk." Honestly, I don't want to imagine if this sort of thing of it happened in America, but here it somehow works. Yyou can fortunately just side-step the drunk people (or at least just shove them while they sway into you and later high-five with everyone around you when a Tico knocks the beer out of his hand and forces him to get lost trying to buy another).

- Cars are still honking on the streets of Munich. It's just Costa Rica, guys....

- Nice effort, Poland. Glad those combined 20+ corners and free kicks in the final third paid off against a team that was probably at least 4 inches shorter than you at every position. Way to make it happen. (Who am I kidding? Screw Poland!)

- How about the Ecuadorian goalie's facepaint? Looks like he stopped off at Fan Fest before the game.

- I won the award for most obscure jersey in a place where everyone was wearing one. My #11 Patschinksy from the 2003 U-20 World Cup earned me anywhere from a friendly "Who the f&#! is Patschinsky?!" to a guy who knew he played in a Hamburg second-division team. For the record, that man also bought me a beer.

- German studio analyst Christophe Daum is the ugliest man on television (well, one that was paid to. You're exempt, Lorenzo Mata). Don't believe me? Sooooo German.

- Funny conversation: talking about Dirk Nowitzky to a guy while his friend, obviously obliterated and unable to speak any other English other than a 50 Cent song, was carrying a pink magic wand that lit up and repeatedly waving it in my face saying "I got the magic stick! I got the magic stick!"