Euro 2008 II
Sorry, but European football may be a reoccurring motif in the weeks to come. The European Cup of Nations starts on Friday night. Teams have been arriving in Switzerland over the last couple of days. Some of the host cities to the teams are swamped with fans who have shown up to get a glimpse of their favorite stars. There are 1000 police on standby in case (or when) the soccer riots break out. Flags are everywhere, especially Swiss, Portuguese and Spanish colors. The final warm-up games took place last night and soon the craziness will begin.
I’ve never lived in a town that hosted the Olympics or been in a city that hosted a World Cup match (though I was in the USA in 1990 during that World Cup, but there wasn’t much fervor) so all this enthusiasm is a bit beyond me. But I will get caught up in the thrill, especially if the Swiss get into the Final 8. It won’t excite me so much that I’ll buy a new, HD flat screen TV (sales in Europe are rocketing thanks to sports, but our old one works just fine, thanks), but I may put on my Swiss T-shirt and get a tear in my eye while mumbling the words to the Swiss National Anthem.
June 4th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Number Two Son leaves with a school group for a 20 day-plus Germany/Switzerland tour on 6/17. Not sure of the itinerary (maybe I ought to look into that!), but I’m sure he’ll get caught up in some of the soccer, uh, I mean football fever.
But hopefully not too much, if you know what I mean.
June 4th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Yeah but tears in HD will really bring tears to your eyes. And you can cry again when the amount of the purchase is deducted from your bank account.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Leave it to Randy!!!
June 4th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Saw that the Dutch were in town with you guys and thought about dropping in for a visit - still have the sticker on my car from the tournament in Thayngen. Figure your old, HD flat-screen tv is better than my old regular block-of-thick-electronics-tv. =) We’ll be rooting for the Dutch since the Belgians didn’t make it - but we’ll be keeping an eye on the Swiss as well. Have fun!
June 5th, 2008 at 4:57 am
What? No fervor in the US over a soccer game?