Tutto Viola (all purple), one of the team’s slogans, does not begin to describe what we participated in this afternoon. Today Cole and I took in our first European soccer match, in what proved to be one of the top three sporting events I've ever attended. You always hear that soccer fans here are crazy and what an understatement that is. Like almost anyone from Wisconsin, I love a good Packer or Badger game and find the fans to be loyal and loud. Well they could definitely learn a thing or two from these fans. In America, when the home team needs a big play, they put a noise meter on the scoreboard and it slowly gets louder and louder in the stadium. Now freeze the point where it gets the absolute loudest, double it, and leave it there for the full 2+ hour game! There is never, and I mean never, a time when things settle down. It's amazing how vocal these fans were. It's grown men jumping around, hugging each other, and singing what seemed like 100 different songs. For all we knew, a lot if it might have been obscenities; but since it's all in Italian, Cole or I wouldn't know the difference. Let me back up a bit. When I first found out they had a home game this weekend I of course inquired about tickets. When I finally found a ticket outlet I was told I would need my passport to purchase the tickets. Sounded a little strange, but I played along and returned the next day to buy two. Fast forward now to game day and I thought I better take the passports again just in case. Sure enough, upon entering the stadium we passed through various gates for our specific section, and again had to show our ID not once but twice. I found out later this was to verify who you are and where you're from. They don't want you reselling your ticket to the enemy (visiting team) and only the person purchasing the ticket (they print your name right on it when you buy it) can use it to enter the stadium. Fiorentina (Florence) plays in the "Series A" division (the premier league), and today was a big match as they were one point out of qualifying for play at the Championship level for next year. All the levels/leagues can be a bit confusing, but basically they needed to win and have AC Milan lose. After falling behind 1-0 against Parma, Fiorentina rallied for 3 straight goals and eventually won 3-1. Before you scroll down to the videos and photos, if you haven't already, I need to mention a couple more things. First, if you root for Parma, you must sit in a cage. And by cage, I mean cage. The visiting team fans have two sections that are surrounded by bulletproof glass, fence, and barbwire. They look, and act, like caged animals. As an added safety measure, they also keep all of the sections next to this cage empty of any fans, and the aisles after that are lined with security guards standing shoulder to shoulder. We didn't stick around to see how these visiting fans are eventually released from their cage; we'll have to save that for another match. In video number one, Cole and I decided to take a closer look at the cage, but after a questionable call on the field, found ourselves a little too close. Video two is everyone waiting for the Napoli - Milano score to be posted on the scoreboard. (Eventually they show Napoli beating Milan 2-0) Video three is just another of the many songs everyone was singing. Remember, these videos are not taken during goals or any other heightened situation. The energy you see is what goes on nonstop! Along with the videos are a few photos of our adventure. You can see the cage in some (one a close-up), a player being carried off after a hard collision, and one showing the fans garment of choice, winter scarves. It's 80 degrees and everyone wears their scarves to the game? I told you they were crazy.
