“The first group-stage opponent for the United States men’s national team was Ghana. In order to televise the game for its 25 million citizens, Ghana had to ration electricity and import 50 megawatts of power from neighboring countries. (That nations like Ghana can compete with a country like the United States on a level playing field remains an underrated Cup perversity. In fact, going into the contest, Ghana was justifiably viewed as a slight favorite. No one in the U.S. seemed to accept how crazy that was. This would be like the residents of Woodstock, N.Y., challenging the entire Houston metropolitan area to a game of softball, and every hard-core softball fan immediately assuming Woodstock would probably win.) In the end, the country with the most electricity prevailed, 2-1.”
shaun james bockert 