Posted by Jeff Bradley

JOHANNESBURG -- I've been on the road for 25 days covering the World Cup. But in some ways, I feel like I've been on the road for seven months covering Ghana. Friday night, when I make my way to the quarterfinal match between Ghana and Uruguay, it will mark the seventh time I've seen Ghana play in person this year.

In January, I went to Luanda, Angola, to cover the knockout stages of the African Cup of Nations. I watched Ghana defeat Angola 1-0 in the quarters, then eliminate Nigeria 1-0 in the semis, then fall 1-0 to Egypt in the final. Here in South Africa, I've seen Ghana draw 1-1 with Australia, lose to Germany 1-0 and defeat the U.S. 2-1 on Saturday in the round of 16.

The Black Stars have become my beat, in a way. I've gotten to know their coach, Milovan Rajevac, as well as a few of their players and a number of their regular media members. As Ghana advanced through the Cup of Nations, the media contingent and I would hang in hotel lobbies together, waiting for players to surface for interviews, waiting for the coach to hold his press conference.

We also engaged in the always-popular practice of media interviewing media. This happens a fair amount at major U.S. sporting events, when the coaches and/or players become less accessible and you're struggling to find people to talk to. Anyway, I talked to a lot of Ghana's press corps about their team and African soccer in general, and I became a regular guest on Radio Ghana.

My most memorable experience came in the final of the Cup of Nations. Sampson Bright, a very knowledgeable radio commentator, was sitting next to me. He was calling the game in his indigenous language, Fante-Twi, with all the spirit of Andres Cantor. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention: He was calling the game into his cell phone.

He was sitting right next to me, so it was hard to tune him out completely, but I was not ready when he suddenly broke into English about 15 minutes into the game and shouted, "We are now going to ask Jeff Bradley, a writer for ESPN, his thoughts on the game." And with that, Mr. Bright handed me the cell phone and told me to speak to Ghana.

I don't expect to be on Radio Ghana on Friday night as the Black Stars try to make history and become the first African country to reach a World Cup semifinal, but I will quietly be pulling for the team I've been covering since January.