Three's Company

The sunrise brought with it the resurrection of Stephanie, who after two days down claims to have her health restored. After a morning passing around the computer, shuffling cards, and flipping through pages, she agreed to venture out to the Arch for sunlight and sustenance. The walk consisted of rehashing the events of the previous days and unpacking and explaining the jokes Ben and I referenced from the times she was indisposed.

Because we've reached the final games of the group stages, the schedule for football watching has changed. We no longer enjoy three games a day from afternoon to night. Now we toggle between two sets of matches, first at 4 p.m., then again at 8:30 p.m. The matches share start times to ensure an ethical unfolding of the stage's final results. Things will certainly quiet down around here for now, as South Africa's beloved Bafana Bafana were unable to clinch a spot in the knockout round this evening. With the Cameroonians eliminated and Nigeria in poor shape, local attention will likely shift to Ghana and the Ivory Coast for some continental representation in the tournament.

As for us, we're glad to have all members of the suite healthy and headstrong for tomorrow's final group match versus the Desert Foxes of Algeria. The U.S. team openly touts a never-say-die work ethic, so the do-or-die scenario for tomorrow seemingly works in their favor. Additionally, for animosity's sake, we three hope to squash the Algerians because our FourFourTwo World Cup guide (our Bible these past two weeks) posits the following in its preview of the Desert Foxes:

"[H]istory breeds expectation, and Algerians, like most of the Arab world, will still expect victory against 'The Great Satan' (USA)."

We know you're supporting our mission here, and hopefully the mission of the Men's National Team as well. Keep an eye on the game tomorrow, and as always, go U.S.A.!