For those looking to read a more upbeat blog entry from me, this is it!! Ghana played host to the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations event this year from January 20-February 10 and what a party it was! Though we didn't actually take home the Cup, Ghana lost to Cameroon in final rounds putting Cameroon in the finals vs. Egypt-- who ended up winning the 2008 Cup.
It all kicked off with a Go Africa concert on January 19 at Independence Square. I went with my roommates and a few of our Ghanaian friends showed up as well. I enjoyed seeing Malaika again (from South Africa) and 2Face (from Nigeria)... Jamaican reggae artists Steel Pulse were good too. AND, perhaps the best part was when they lit up the warm night sky at midnight with a fantastic, fireworks display to kickoff the event!
Finally, my roommates and I got our long-anticipated fireworks show! Just beautiful (and unexpected... making it even more magical!)
Official opening ceremonies (with President John Kufuor) kicked off the following day at the Ohene Djan Stadium but it was next to impossible to get tickets, so we watched it from a setup they had designed for those of us who couldn't get tickets, called a FanPark near the Accra Polo Club. The ceremonies had all the various tribes of Ghana doing their traditional dance in traditional clothes- it was so neat to watch! Would have been amazing live, I'm sure.
Then Ghana's Black Stars played Guinea right afterwards and won 2-1! What an experience to be amongst such patriotic fans!
We all sat on the dried grass, in our red, yellow, green and black nationalistic attire and stood up to cheer whenever Ghana scored, hugged strangers and even had a mini danceoff at the end of the game on the grass field! Oh, what a memory!
We Canadians bought tickets for the Ghana vs. Namibia match on January 24 (which they won 1-0) at the actual Stadium and boy, was there a fanfare there as well! Ghanaians have got to be some of the most patriotic people I've ever met.
On any given day that Ghana's Black Stars would be playing, the whole city of Accra (and perhaps beyond I imagine) would come to work wearing their patriotic clothes to support their team! And they would do it the day before, the day of and if they won the match, the day after as well!
The Grand Finale was on February 10 with Egypt playing Cameroon, and it wasn't too hard to get tickets, so I went with my roommate Beth and our buddy, Aaron. Though we had to sit apart, I enjoyed the game though my team Cameroon ended up losing 0-1. :( There again, there was a beautiful fireworks display, music, cheering, dancing-- and the President came back to present the Cup. Funny to say though that I, like so many of the other West African fans (who woulda been cheering on West African nation, Cameroon) just stayed put in our seats! (*grumpy face here* since Egypt's already won the Cup 6 times!)
Saddest part about having such an exciting and wonderful event in Ghana at this time, is that most Ghanaians never even got near the Stadium to see a live game due to financial reasons with the cost of a ticket being equal to $4CDN if you can imagine.
Goes to show the difference between the emphasis some of us have to place on money... it wasn't much for us Canadians to spend on a memory that will last a lifetime, but to a typical Ghanaian that $4 has a lot more value than we could ever imagine.
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