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| Playing Peroni hands in preparation for the game |
I've always loved soccer. In fact, I've played it ever since I was five years old. So when someone on the program suggested buying tickets to the Rome vs. Naples, I jumped at the opportunity to see my first live European soccer match.
Getting There:
I don't think I'll ever be able to say that I've tackled Roman public transportation, but any progress I had potentially made before we left for the game was shot down quickly as we tried to navigate our way to the stadium. Two buses, one tram and significant amount of walking later we finally were picked up with the wave of rowdy Roma fans hustling their way to watch the game begin.
The People:
It's a pretty typical universal notion that all soccer fans are crazy. And when you're speaking about European soccer fans this so-called crazy fandom is heightened x100. While I couldn't really understand their what they were saying during the match, judging by both the tone and the laughter from other fans in response to specific cheers led me to think that the Rome fans have a pretty witty and likely offensive chant archive, (if you will).
Another interesting thing about the Rome soccer fans was that they weren't decked out in Roma gear. Unlike any home game of a professional sports team in the U.S., the stadium was filled with people in mostly black or gray--not the bright red and orange of their teams jerseys. That being said, the 20 of us that arrived at the game sporting our new Roma jerseys stuck out as a sore thumb even more that we usually do.
Overall:
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| photo cred: http://www.italy.dk/politik/img/Forza-Roma.jpg |
While I wasn't terribly fond of the excessive amount of painfully crowded and smelly forms of public transportation it took to get to the Roma vs. Napoli soccer game, the experience I had interacting with the Roman crowd, glomming on to "Odio Napoli chants, and watching my first European soccer match made it an event in Rome that I would both recommend to other and do again. Although Rome lost to Naples, 2-0, that night will go down as one of the most fun and crazy nights I had during my 4 months abroad.
And for your viewing pleasure.. and little taste of the amazing soccer player that is Totti.