Cote d'Ivoire v. People's Republic of Korea

Todd and I had tix to tonight's match between Cote d'Iviore and North Korea but decided not to go. The game was almost meaningless as both Brasil and Portugal are nearly assured to win the group. Also, the drive to Nelspruit is over 4 hours one-way so it would've taken all day (and night). We thought it'd be better to have a rest day to do some shopping and get our laundry done. The only drawback was that they were terrific seats - 15 rows from the field. Also, Cote d'Ivoire is among the best sides in Africa and their striker, Dider Drogba, is a noted humanitarian and one of the best players in the world. So we didn't want them to be wasted.

We asked Adriaan Kruger if he was interested in the tickets or if he had any friends, family or clients that would want to see the match. It turns out that he and his wife had once hosted a student at their home from Nelspruit. The student comes from a family that is, in Adriaan's words "not very affluent." Todd and I took that to mean black and very poor. Unfortunately, since returning to Nelspruit, this student has become physically disabled. Adriaan said that his mother was very excited to be able to take her son to the game - she could never have afforded to buy tickets on her own. I hope they had a great time together.