“Thank you berry much. Baseball been berry, berry good to me. Thank you. God bless you. Gracias!”
Ridgewood residents catch World Cup fever
JULY 2, 2014 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014, 2:35 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG AND JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITERS
America’s dream of winning the World Cup was dashed on Tuesday when the team was eliminated 2-1 by Belgium. With no goals on either side until overtime, tension remained high through the last 15-minute halves of the game, with the hope that U.S. could tie it up and go to a shootout.
Although the bars might not have the same feverish soccer crowds now that the U.S. is not in the competition, there’s still at least one place in Ridgewood where spirits remain high.
At Heidi’s Finest Bavarian Bakery last Thursday, the pastries, tortes, cakes, and buns went unattended with all eyes on the flat screen TV on the back wall at the East Ridgewood Avenue eatery.
This was much the scene throughout the village as fans, and those new to the soccer bandwagon, united for 90 minutes to cheer on the United States players competing on the fields of Brazil.
It was a long shot for the U.S. to win against Germany on June 26, but despite a 1-0 defeat, the team advanced when Portugal ousted Ghana in a concurrent game.
Heidi’s owners Agron and Edita Sadikaj perched on stools behind the glass cases of German goods, Edita holding their daughter, Lorena, and Agron bouncing the almost 2-year-old Liron on his lap, while the toddler played peek-a-boo with an adult-sized Deutschland cap in the colors of the German flag: black, red and yellow.
Asked about her thoughts on the German team’s strong reputation, Edita Sadikaj said the Germans “started very early.” Germany takes on France in the quarterfinals on July 4.
“I think to the U.S., it’s kind of a new sport. It’s not so popular. [In Germany] it’s like football in the U.S.A,” she said.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/soccer-kicks-patriotic-passion-into-gear-1.1044793#sthash.dGmXA9cA.dpuf
