Soccer Fanaticism, Euro Style

Being in Europe for the World Cup has been intriguing and enlightening. I do not fancy myself a soccer fan, but I've enjoyed the entertainment by taking in several games so far. Thanks to our Bulgarian friends, I have learned more than I ever wanted to know about this crazy sport.

I road tripped to Greece this past week and arrived just in time on Tuesday night to grab a gyro and catch the Greece versus Argentina game. A few Greeks reminded us of their Euro 2004 win and watched with pride, but quieted down when it was clear they weren't going to win. We were walking through the streets of a seaside village deciding where to eat and watch while the buzzing of the vuvuzelas was coming at us from every direction, from restaurants, apartments, car radios. I'm used to this, however, because in Varna, the streetside cafes and bars all have televisions outside broadcasting the games, so the whole town sounds like faint out-of-tune trumpets are playing in the distance. If the wind is just right, I can even hear the sound while laying on the beach from the beach bar tvs. And I've gotten pretty good at estimating the score of any given game since I can hear fans cheering or jeering from the nearby bars no matter what room of my apartment I'm in.

While I don't really grasp the sport, and I have plenty of criticisms with the logistics that I think I understand (but probably don't), it has been enjoyable to see the enthusiasm these Europeans have for the game. We of course patriotically cheered on the Americans and were usually in the minority. A couple nights ago we watched the game against Ghana and I heard the guys next to us speaking French, the people behind us speaking Dutch, and the rest of the fans were Bulgarians or Russians. Only the French guys were cheering on America with us. Regardless of sides, it was exciting to be part of something bringing people together from all parts of the world and hearing so many languages being spoken.

I probably won't watch many more games since America is out, but I'm looking forward to watching the finals from another part of Europe. I've heard the Dutch are pretty good fans. I'll be cheering for the home team if they're still in it. When it's all over, I doubt I'll watch soccer again for a few years, but I might actually miss the football scene over here, including the vuvuzelas.