Viva, Italia!

How many of you know that 2008 European Cup is currently in place? This year Switzerland and Austria are hosting the games together but sadly, the Swiss team was the first for elimination. We all know Europeans love soccer so it is very exciting for me to be able to watch the games and sharing that passion with the people here. You may not believe this but I like watching soccer games. I have gotten up in the middle of the night quite a few times watching the previous 4 World Cups (both men's and women's)!

One of the most interesting games was Italy vs. Netherlands on this past Tuesday night. Trevor and Beth were at our apartment that night and we went out to Gatsby's for gelato. The bartender had the game on TV and his eyes never left it while he was scooping our gelatos. A few minutes after we've returned back to the apartment, the Dutch kicked in its first goal. I was sure that the bartender (and many other Italians) must be upset and therefore I was glad that we got gelatos before the goal. Before I could barely finish the entire gelato, the Dutch made another goal. We could hear someone was yelling downstairs (Gatsby's is right across the street under us) thru the open window. We were certain our Italian friends are going to be in a bad mood the next day since Italy lost 0 - 3. But surprisingly, they seemed to be calm and reasonable to even admit that their players didn't play well. (???) Who've ever heard 'sensible soccer fans' before?

So tonight's game is important for Italy (vs. Romania) because it has to win to be sure to go to the quarter final. You betcha I'm going to watch it and support Italy! I'm even wearing a blue shirt today to show my devotion. Viva, Italia!

You can get details of the European Cup at: http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/