Republic Day

ASANTÉ KATOKO!!! FABÚ!!! Happy (belated) Republic Day. We celebrated July 1 with the locals here in Accra on their holiday. About ten of us went to the brand-new football (soccer) stadium to watch two Ghanaian teams play for the President’s Cup. Initially it freaked me out, to be honest. While trying to obtain tickets, most of us felt people grabbing at our bags. Even though I clutched mine tightly to my torso, I later discovered someone had unzipped the side pocket. They didn’t take the Band-Aids or lip-gloss it contained, though. Probably not what they’d expected.

Once we got inside the arena, everything went uphill. Well, except for the rain that started falling as soon as we situated ourselves in pretty awesome seats, near center field. The game didn’t start for almost an hour and a half after we arrived, but it was actually kind of fun to get soaking wet (really refreshing after all the sweaty, muggy humidity!) and pal around with our neighbors. It was such a fun afternoon, in large part based on the encounters with Ghanaians out celebrating their day off and cheering on their team. And man, did they represent! We’d bought a few souvenirs outside that designated us Katoko fans, which turned out to be the right affiliation. Not only were they the best, but they seemed to have the largest fan base by far. Katoko means “porcupine” in Akan, and they were from the Asanté region of Ghana; their opponents were the Lions from Volta, the lake region. It was the first time we were totally immersed in the culture for a stretch of time, and it was exhilarating. Best of all, we were embraced wholeheartedly by the (mainly male) crowd. They had a ball with us, teaching us cheers, telling us about themselves, and bonding with us over “our” team’s small victories.

Before the game started (only ten minutes late, which is great timing for Ghana, where the frequent tardiness is referred to as being “on Africa/Ghana time”), the Vice President of Ghana received recognition and a marching band played. The game was engaging, both the action on and off the field. Katoko fans burst into cheers and songs frequently, all in Akan (one of the primary local dialects) but which we were told mostly praised God and asked for his grace. Everyone here is incredibly religious, and God has a hand in every matter and aspect of society.

Ultimately, our team won! The game was 0-0 through half time, then each team scored a goal in rapid succession at the start of the second half, and again towards the end. But the Katoko team showed their superiority, and the Lions their shortcoming, in the round of 5 penalty kicks. After declared the victors, Katoko fans went nuts celebrating. For some reason, we Americans received a huge amount of attention at this point, probably because we were so excited for their team too and it reinforced the magnificence of the occasion. The ride home offered just as much excitement, as our cabbie pressed his horn in celebration almost continuously. We waved our Katoko flags out the windows and hollered Katoko cheers as the people we drove by stared at us. Though their faces reflected shock at the sight of such strange wild white people, most broke out into amused and delighted smiles, recognizing our appreciation for and immersion in their country.