So, if you're like me (and most other Americans), you're not really much of a soccer fan, are you? Well, I played in high school and I love playing it still whenever I get a chance, but MLS doesn't exactly do it for me. I can't say that I am much of a soccer spectator. Enter Alex. He also can't bear to watch our "professionals" either, but one of his first priorities after arriving in Michigan two summers ago was to locate the nearest pub that was showing the World Cup. I didn't know this until I met him, but Europe has their own, similar style tournament every two years when there isn't a World Cup, called, you guessed it, the UEFA Championship. So, as I tend to do when international competition is involved (when the Olympics roll around, for example, I am suddenly an expert in the pommel horse, find myself vehemently and passionately cheering on some swimmer from Long Island I'd never heard of before and will not think of for another four years, etc.), I found myself voluntarily watching Russia defeat the Netherlands in the quarterfinal and stealing glimpses on EPSN360 of the second semifinal game at work so that I would know who Germany would be up against in the final.
All of that preamble explains why we would were at the Irish pub on Sunday afternoon, shouting at a giant TV screen as Germany choked, the Italian refs awarded ridiculous free kicks, and Spain's whiny Torres refused to get up after theatrically embellishing an alleged "foul." Even though it wasn't a very good game in terms of soccer, we met a really nice couple (he's from northern Germany, she's from Baltimore) and I forgot how much fun it can be getting behind something bigger than yourself. It was like a flashback to the summer of 2006: there I was again in Conor O'Neills, hanging out with Alex, drinking a beer while it's still light outside, meeting foreign people and bonding with these strangers as we swap stories and soccer philosophies. Maybe Ann Arbor has something to offer after all, at least during the summers of even-numbered years.
1 comment:
I couldn't find the right spot in the post to share this, but when Alex and I were watching the semi-finals, I made a comment about how Spain has some attractive players (Fàbregas, anyone?) and he didn't really say anything, just mentioned that they are on the short side. Then, a few minutes later, as we're watching the game, he was like, "Yeah, the Spanish are cute: they're so small, you can put them in your pocket." I thought it was hilarious and figured you might too.
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