Rain sends Germany and Curacao fans on pre-match hunt for umbrellas and beer

HOUSTON- An early morning storm soaked Germany and Curacao fans arriving early at the stadium for their teams' World Cup opener on Sunday, sending them scrambling for umbrellas, rain gear and -- more importantly for some -- beer.

The quick storm caught many unprepared and forced a pit stop at a store across from the stadium that saw brisk sales of a fast-dwindling supply of umbrellas and raincoats.

"We are here getting a raincoat and an umbrella for the rain," said Caroline Sluys, who travelled with her son to Houston from Curacao for the game. "It is not going to dampen our spirits. We are going to be yelling and screaming because it's the first time Curacao has made it to the World Cup.”

While locals mostly came prepared for the fast-changing weather, the sudden deluge surprised a number of fans headed to the stadium where the covered seats offered a respite.

Other early-arriving fans shrugged off the rain and said they were more concerned with finding a place to buy beer because stadium beer sales hadn't started yet.

"We don't have any rain gear. We are looking for beer," Leon Baucke, who lives in Munich and travelled to the match with a group of friends, said. "We are used to it because the weather isn't great in Germany."

(Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by Toby Chopra)