I am standing on the train platform right now in Frankfurt waiting to board the train to see the U.S. team play a World Cup match against the Italian team.
As I go to sit down, the man who sits next to me has an older red Chicago Fire jersey. Being a Chicago-based journalist traveling with the U.S. team in Germany, I could not believe the coincidence.
So, I ask him the obvious question of, "Are you from Chicago?"
He responded with the not so obvious reply of, "No, I'm actually from Arkansas and I live in South Africa now but the Fire is my favorite team."
His name is Bruce Wilson and in between living in Arkansas and South Africa, he lived in Chicago from 1996 to 2001 and found two loves: his wife and the Chicago Fire.
For the next 45 minutes aboard the train, I just mostly listened to him as he told me about waking up at 3 a.m. Johannesburg time to catch a Fire game on television, memories of being a season ticket holder during the Fire's 1998 championship season and his love of Chicago.
As I listen to him talk, I have another feeling of how small the world really is. These feelings at a World Cup are as common as the wind blowing off the water on Lake Shore Drive.
Upon arriving at our destination, I part ways with Bruce and head to the fanfest. The fanfest is one part Taste of Chicago, one part St. Patrick's Day and one part college homecoming parade, all leading up to the match.
As I weave through the crowd sporting my white Fire jersey with Chicago emblazoned on the front, I am stopped by the Cove family from Syracuse, Ind.: Fire fans who wanted to talk about the new stadium and pose for a picture. A few blocks down the street I meet the Carrano family whose children Chris, 11, and Elizabeth, 8, tell me of going to Fire games with their youth soccer team called the Warren United Blazers.
I have to pause and ask myself if I am in Chicago or Germany because this sure feels like home to me.
As I look around, I see a man from Iran, another family from Ghana, a French family, a woman from Australia and I realize that even though we are all so far away from home, everyone feels like they are at home right now.
Dan Migala's online journal can be read at http://adidas.usasoccerstars.com. The Chicago-based journalist will be writing Chicago-specific observations for the Chicago Fire throughout his travels in the 2006 World Cup. He can be reached at dan@migalareport.com.
