Match 23: Ukraine v England.

To start the day, we went to a place called FashionCake for breakfast. They pride themselves in being "confectionery couture".

We spent the next few hours eating a very delicious Ukrainian meal and hanging out at the park outside Donbass Arena. This sleepy park experience seen in the video was cut short when the sprinklers turned on!

Instead we explored an area that had a bunch of old Soviet tanks available for Steve to climb on. David, I'm sure you can appreciate. :)

And then we hung out in Donbass Arena for a while before the game started. This is what that gorgeous stadium looks like from the inside.

Our seats were AMAZING! We were, no joke, less than twenty yards from the corner of the six-yard box at one of the goals!

I wore my Ukraine shirt (which I bought in a kids size because it was cheaper!) to the game, which was a good idea becuase we were SURROUNDED by Ukrainians! The England fans had one tiny corner of the stadium and were outnumbered at least 8-to-1 by Ukraine fans.

I was rooting for Ukraine because, as a host country, it would mean so much to them to move on. But I found that I was less enthusiastic to cheer for them because I was too busy staring in awe at players whose names I've been hearing my whole life: Rooney, Gerrard, Terry... They've built their careers in my lifetime; they are the players my generation has followed since youth. They (and perhaps dear David Beckham) belong to us like no one else. To watch them play live was realizing a dream I didn't know I had.
And we were close enough to see Rooney's goal that won them the game, and first place in Group D up close. It was beautiful, and it gave the severely outnumbered England fans something to stand up and cheer for.

That isn't to say that my heart didn't leap into my throat when Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko left his feet going up for a header in the 85th minute, reminiscent of the two goals he scored in Ukraine's opening game to win it for his country. And that isn't to say I didn't feel the weight of the silence of forty thousand disappointed Ukrainians. I did.

I felt it in a way that made me long for the United States.

I felt it in a way that makes me feel proud of my country, and that makes me want to support my teams. Because you only have one home. And if the Dutch can drive 2400 km to watch their team and still love them even though they lost every game, so can I.

It has been amazing to see the patriotism here at EURO2012. All the fans support their home country, regardless of how good or bad their team is. They are all loyal to their home, and if a Danish man is not cheering for Holland, the Dutch guys just shrug, because it's natural for someone to root for their country's team. The fans here, some who have travelled thousands of kilometers to watch their teams, are here to back up their country, no matter what.

When we attend a USA game, you can bet that after this experience, we are going all out to dress up and support our country.

Because like I said, you only have one home.

Be proud.