Maicon brings it across midfield on the right side, makes a quick move around his defender, lays it off to Zanetti, who crosses into the box for Milito, and GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
Never before have Americans been so entranced by soccer as 3 of my buddies and I scream at the top of our lungs celebrating in Inter Milan goal surrounded by 80,000 passionate Italians. An experience unlike any sporting event I have ever been too, Italian soccer (calcio) is truly incredible.
With fans that reach crazed levels of fanaticism screaming aggressive chants, numerous catcalls, and loud whistles (the Italian form of booing), when you find yourself comfortable in the atmosphere it can become many things, but most of all, it is fun.
While in Milan I had to use my small amount of European soccer knowledge to select a team to which I would pledge my allegiance. With two powerhouse teams both playing in the San Siro Stadium home to 80,000 seats and a large amount of history I had to make my decision between supporting AC Milan or Inter Milan. From the moment I stepped off the plane in Italy I was already being grilled about which team I would support my locals, cab drivers, and fellow students, with the city of Milan being split almost down the middle with fans of each side. After attending one AC game and one Inter game it was clear that I was driven to support Inter… so I embraced it. With one of my best friends already being a huge supporter of Inter (which he claimed was his biggest reason for studying in Milan) we went to a number of matches and truly embraced the Italian sporting culture. Over the course of the season thus far I have attended 5 Inter games… all of which they have won.
Now if I tried to claim I was a good luck charm you all might doubt me. And I will grant that one American in a knock off jersey and a European soccer scarf may not ultimately be the deciding factor for Italian soccer. However as any avid “Serie A” fan can tell you Inter is having an uncharacteristically disappointing season and has only won 8 of their 15 games up to date. Which means that the probability of me attending 5 winning games out of 8 is quite low (I told you I was taking statistics), so there must be some kind of magic going on.
After 5 games at San Siro I felt like quite the loyal fan. I knew where to buy my ticket, I knew where to sit in the stadium, I knew the players’ strengths and weaknesses, I even knew where to buy the best street vendor food outside of the stadium. Attending Inter Milan soccer games became a way for me to truly blend into the Italian culture and feel like a bigger part of the country I was living in. So for your next European adventure whether you are a sports fan or not, see a unique side of European culture, feel connected to the people of that culture, and have an amazing time doing it. Go see a soccer game.
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