I feel I experienced a taste of several cultures over the Independence Day holiday. It started with a soccer ball on a golf course and ended with the U.S. winning a football title.

I've been hearing about foot golf recently, mostly through Groupon emails. My son and I were joined by a friend of his who plays on a high school soccer team to play a round. We played on a golf course with special cups large enough for the regulation soccer balls. It's a pretty simple concept. Kick the ball into the hole. The soccer player won.

We also took in the old fashioned American pastime, a St. Paul Saints game. The game was a sellout. With our standing room only tickets, we grabbed a spot on the right field railing early and didn't move. People were lined up two and three deep as game time arrived. Next to us were some nice people from England, who didn't understand the game too well. One woman sat down on the concrete and read a book for most of the time.

My daughter enjoys the big city and invited me to join her and her boyfriend at Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis for some paddle boating and fireworks. The different nationalities I saw and languages I heard epitomized the founding concept of our country. We saw four cities' fireworks displays at the same time, plus one elaborate effort from a lakeside home. There was even time for some Greek pizza beforehand.

I can't think of a much better way to cap an Americana weekend then watching the U.S. women win the World Cup. The team got better and better as the tournament progressed and topped it off with a dominating win for their third championship. I just wonder if the people who complain that there isn't enough scoring in football will complain that there was too much of it in the title match.

When Labor Day rolls around, almost everything will revolve around American football, and hopefully the Twins are still battling for a playoff spot.

 

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