The Black Stars

I went to watch Africa play Egypt for the Africa Cup in the town of Osu. They closed down about two blocks and placed a giant mega tron television in the middle of the road, paired up with giant speakers to match. I was immediately welcomed into the crowd and I started celebrating. Everyone was screaming and chanting and raving at every chance they got--a missed shot, great defense, everything. I bought a FanIce (a small plastic bag of ice cream, yumm) and during half time took the opportunity to get a Ghanian flag painted on my face. The screaming and chanting continued, but with only four minutes left in the game, Egypt scored. For the remainder of the game the crowd was practically silent in comparison to the beginning of the game. The crowd lingered after the game was over and the jumbo screen was shut down. I walked around and saw that for the most part, the Ghanians were still pretty happy. I asked a man if he was sad Ghana had lost and he said, "What? Why would we be sad? We got second place!!" I was shocked. I have never in my life heard a team celebrate after loosing, saying 'We got second!" It really made me reflect on Ghana as a whole, and the positive attitude they all have, even after all the horrors that have been committed against them. Obviously second out of fifty two countries is an amazing placement, but most sports teams don't think like that, they only know they didn't come in first. But Ghanians are just so different. They don't seen to consider the 'what if's' of their country, only on the here and now. They do not reflect on the setbacks that the slave trade caused them, and think about where they could be if the past was different. They don't think Instead they praise their successes so far, and leave the past behind. It's something that I really admire, and am definitely going to try to keep in mind as I live my life.