How Decades of World Cup Experiences Helped Build the Foundation of SHG: 2010

Continued from How Decades of World Cup Experiences Helped Build the Foundation of SHG: 2006

The 2010 World Cup marked the first time the tournament was held on the continent of Africa.

Joanna and I landed in Johannesburg after a 16-hour flight from Atlanta jet lagged and excited for the tournament. The grounds crew were dancing on the tarmac in celebration from their opening draw with Mexico. South Africans were overwhelmingly excited to host the World Cup with hopes of a positive economic impact and the recognition that comes with hosting a marquee international event.

The southern tip of Africa offered many opportunities to experience what made the country unique, and we took full advantage of it. Between games and client events, we hiked Table Mountain, braved Great White Shark cage diving, went on Safari in Kruger National Park, experienced the Stallenbosch wine country and toured the Cape of Good Hope.

After traveling throughout the country to Cape Town, Pretoria and Rustenberg seeing USA vs England, Spain vs. Chile, and USA vs Slovenia we were in the stadium for Landon Donovan’s famous last second injury time goal against Algeria to win the group and send us through to the knockout stages.

To this day, I’ve never experienced a spontaneous eruption of joy from tens of thousands of fans quite like that one. Being in the stadium when a once in a lifetime moment occurs is the dream of every fan when they attend sporting events around the globe.

We help clients attend hundreds of sporting events a year. We know how important overall experience is. At the core we get it because we’re fans too.