Update: Day 20

After a late morning wake-up we were invited, by students we had befriended, to the finals of the Kings Cup, a soccer tournament that had went on for three weeks with various teams from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan competing for the prestigious cup. The finals were played today at 4:00 p.m. with the Bhutanese team Yeedzin F.C. playing against the Nepalese MMC. We arrived to the national stadium almost two hours early as to reserve front row seating for a better view. The seats were less than comfortable as they were simply long concrete slabs but that wasn't an issue until it started raining. Disregarding the weather however, people, mostly supporters of the Bhutanese team, began to show up in hordes decorated in red to show support for their team. Some of the more dedicated fans were covered in red face paint bringing with them drums and other percussion instruments as well as, to our amusement, conch shells in place of South Africa's vuvuzela. Right from kick-off both teams displayed an admirable amount of desire for the trophy. It was exciting to see that kind of effort within the young athletes and the excitement only rose when Yeedzin was able to put the ball in the net with a stellar header in the fourth minute. The energy from the crowd was fantastic. It did, however, dumb down a little when Nepal managed to score late in the first half. During halftime people stood up just to stretch there legs but no one wanted to leave the stadium in fear of the second half beginning without them. Returning to the game the intensity from the players was incredible, even after 45 minutes of continuous running. The game was still level but Yeedzin made the first move yet again, scoring after a little over 20 minutes into the second half. Unfortunately the joy was not long lived as the Nepalese managed a breakaway shortly after that led to a Yeedzin player scoring in his own net. With less then 20 minutes left in the game, Nepal was able to score two more goals on Bhutanese Yeedzin ending the game 4-2 in favor of Nepal. There was some obvious disappointment among the Bhutanese fans but they were proud of their men for making it to the finals in the first place. In the end, everyone had something to celebrate about regardless of which team you backed up. It was an incredible experience with many memorable moments, such as a dog running into the Nepalese goal causing Bhutanese to jump to their feet with cries of "Goal!!!", an experience we will never forget, for it is not often that the opportunity to view a Kings Cup final is presented to kids living in the U.S.