Athleticism at its Finest

Last night I got a taste of the contrast between American and Italian sporting events. It started out with the Rome vs. Florence soccer game. Our entire group of about 20 was all decked out in purple jerseys and scarves to cheer on our new hometown team, Fiorentina. Spinks and I paid an extra 5 euro to get the “official” team scarf so it’s definitely coming home with me to hang in my apartment next year. We got to the game and realized it wasn’t that much different from an American stadium. We even got hot dogs and beer. The only difference is that we needed our passports to get in (super sketchy) and that the entire crowd was screaming in Italian the whole time. It was so cool because I’ve been to a soccer game in America and obviously it was no where near as exciting. The only words I could understand from the Florentine’s screaming behind us were the swear words so obviously they get pretty passionate about the whole thing. Right as the game started I felt like I was staring at a mass of bobble head dolls because the entire stadium was bouncing in their seats in anticipation as they sang Fiorentina’s song in unison.

I’m not usually into soccer because I prefer sports where the scoreboard changes more frequently but this game was so cool. Unfortunately, the final score was 1-0 Rome which was disappointing because I’m sure the crowd would have been insane had Florence won. When Rome scored, their section of fans went CRAZY and they had fireworks going off and everything. Florentines started throwing lit cigarettes into their section which, after an unfortunate incident where I walked into a women’s cigarette at a Cubs game, I know would not be fun to have land on you.

As soon as we got home from the soccer game, we headed straight to a local “American” bar to watch the Super Bowl. It was nice to watch the game because even though I’m loving Florence and haven’t gotten homesick yet, I’m still kind of “America-sick” so I was enjoying the atmosphere immensely. I stayed up way past my bed time for a Sunday and was exhausted at my internship today but it was worth it after the adventurous weekend. I put together a calendar of the rest of my trip with travel plans and everything and this whole experience is going to fly by so I’m glad I had a jam packed weekend. A domani!