In soccer, the world was one

Saturday, July 22, 2006 | 7:49 a.m.

A month after attending the World Cup in Germany, Bo Bernhard still sees flags.

Big ones were waved in stadiums and paraded by proud Germans. Even larger ones hung from apartment complexes and office buildings. Smaller ones flew from car windows. The black, red and yellow national flag was everywhere.

"Truly ubiquitous," said Bernhard, an assistant professor at UNLV's International Gaming Institute.

It was a stark contrast to 1996 and '97, when the Bonanza High grad lived in Germany.

"You knew why World War II implications were obvious," he said. When his German friends visited Las Vegas, they were shocked at the huge American flags at every Terrible Herbst gas station.

"They had never seen four-story flags like that," Bernhard said. "They couldn't even wave flags in their country. Heck, when I was there, I didn't even know what their flag looked like because I never saw one."

But the World Cup changed that.

"It was almost as if, for the first time, they felt free to let loose. And it felt like the world was ready for that, too," he said. "It was a great time in a new Germany."

Sean Sullivan, a Western High and UNR graduate, agreed.

"The flag-waving was the best," he said. "On a train to Cologne, every little farm had a flag up. The atmosphere was magical."

Bernhard and Sullivan were two of the fortunate Las Vegans who went to Germany in 2006 to experience that magic. Six local soccer fans, all in their 30s, who made the trip, brought back some memories:

Frederic Apcar

Managing director of a tax-consultation firm

Games attended: Czech Republic 3, U.S. 0; Italy 1, U.S. 1; Ghana 2, U.S. 1; Portugal 1, Angola 0

Apcar, a Las Vegas native who spent several years playing lower-division soccer in Europe, was attending his fourth World Cup. He was most moved by the Italy-U.S. game in Kaiserslautern.

"You actually saw how American fans can react to a game that, supposedly, they don't like and, supposedly, don't follow," he said. "It was phenomenal. We showed so much heart."

Apcar, who speaks four languages, then hopped on a packed train to Munich.

"Italy fans were chanting, 'Lu-ca To-ni!' and we chanted back, 'Rig-a To-ni!' " he said of the Italian striker. "There was great spirit. No ill will anywhere."

The U.S. team might have let down its fans, but the fans didn't let the squad down. Apcar agreed with reports that said 35,000 to 40,000 Americans traveled to Germany.

"Now, we get it," Apcar said. "As Americans, we get it. We have a great, great fan base."

Milo Kostelecky

Real estate developer

Games attended: Czech Republic 3, U.S. 0; Portugal 1, Angola 0

Kostelecky became an avid soccer fan in Germany.

"Wow," he said. "I have a new appreciation for the way the world looks at that sport and the passion within it. I think people here are ignorant to how big that game is. I was blown away."

Five hours before the U.S. played the Czechs, Kostelecky joined Apcar - and about 2,000 other Americans - at a bar a dozen miles outside Gelsenkirchen.

"The camaraderie was amazing," Kostelecky said. "Immediate friendship. We were all there for the same purpose. If I have the chance, I'll go to the World Cup for the rest of my life."

Kostelecky, a Bishop Gorman High and Arizona State graduate, told Apcar that the event made him feel better about the world.

"You just have to go to the World Cup one time," Kostelecky said, "and you'll come away with a whole new respect for this game."

Bryan O'Reilly

Real estate

Games attended: Czech Republic 3, U.S. 0; Italy 1, U.S. 1; Portugal 1, Angola 0

O'Reilly had a clear view of U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley's goal in the 65th minute against Italy, then a quick offsides call nullified it.

"That was such a joyous goal," O'Reilly said. "We didn't see the offsides. You should have seen our section - tears of joy quickly turned to tears of pain."

He will always remember the two older Italian gentlemen who pushed shopping carts filled with homemade wine in tubs.

"They had driven all that way just to see Italy-USA and share that moment with everyone," O'Reilly said. "They were walking around toasting everyone, giving everyone big hugs and sharing their wine. To me, that's what it was all about.

"On the train from that game, Italians sang for 2 1/2 hours, nonstop. Granted, I wanted to sleep. It was 2 in the morning. But you had to laugh - they didn't stop."

Bo Bernhard

UNLV assistant professor

Games attended: Czech Republic 3, U.S. 0; Brazil 1, Croatia 0

An hour after the Americans were embarrassed by the Czechs, he moved to the front row of the stadium in Gelsenkirchen for an amazing show.

U.S. coach Bruce Arena ran his players out for a training session. Clint Dempsey, Bobby Convey, Brian Ching, Josh Wolff and the rest of them ran sprints and executed drills on the pitch.

"You could tell," Bernhard said, "that's the last thing they wanted to do."

Two German police officers walked toward the Americans and barked orders. Kasey Keller and Claudio Reyna dealt with them. "That's what it's about," Bernhard said. "They responded in German."

The next day at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Bernhard sat in the 10th row near midfield and drooled over Brazil's bevy of stars. He marveled about Ronaldinho's athleticism, Robinho - "unfathomably tiny" - and Ronaldo - "unbelievably fat."

Croatian fans reveled afterward. Bernhard said, "About 150 of them were singing songs in the street, dancing and laughing. And they just lost!"

With hundreds of thousands of fans, he watched other games from the banks of the Rhine on a huge screen floating in the middle of that river. They were all winners.

Sean Sullivan

Attorney

Games attended: Germany 4, Costa Rica 2; Czech Republic 3, U.S. 0

Sullivan, his wife, Diana, brother Mark and friend Mark Grill watched the U.S.-Czech Republic game from seventh-row midfield seats.

"I saw (Czech midfielder Tomas) Rosicky score that awesome goal right in front of me," Sullivan said. "That was a crushing game. No Czech player was under 6 feet tall. TV couldn't have done them justice."

In Cologne, Sullivan and his crew partied at the Premier Bar. He placed a bet on a game at a gambling establishment named Las Vegas next door. He didn't win. "Some things never change," he said.

They watched another game on a large screen on the grass at the Cathedral of Cologne.

"The food was great, dumplings and gravy. And Mexican fans were everywhere. They had a great showing," Sullivan said. "You have to leave here and go to something like that to feel it. It was the biggest event of my life."

Micah Roberts

Race and sports book director for Station Casinos

Game attended: Czech Republic 3, U.S. 0

For the past two years, Roberts has spent considerable personal time tracking players in the English Premiership, the French Ligue 1, the German Bundesliga and South America.

The UNLV graduate has also tracked those players on their international squads and that knowledge helped him tremendously in Germany.

"It was eye-opening," he said. "This transcends sports. Wars stop in Africa and countries close down. In America, we're so immersed in other sports and entertainment, but soccer is everything to everyone" else.

Roberts, his brother Austin and friend Fred Crespi immersed themselves among the English. They learned that fans of certain Premiership teams didn't cheer for international players from other club teams.

The Roberts trio stopped in Liverpool on the way home to watch the Italy-U.S. game at a pub, where they became targets.

"The English are great. They goad you into verbal battles, then you give a couple back and it's, 'Oh, right, he's all right,' " Roberts said. "They'll sing 30 or 40 songs, and other fans might think they're being insulted. But it's nonsense. They're just having fun.

"They don't want to brawl or challenge. They want a good time; they just know more songs."