Football Fever

Once every four years, qualifying countries have to deal with some serious butterflies. The world's largest, most watched sporting event (makes the Super Bowl seem like a Gilligan’s Isle re-run) took place this time 'round in none other than Germany. The whole country was electrified. Neither Kate nor I was an avid soccer (football, as the Europeans seem to call it) follower, but this summer opened up our eyes. Imagine if American football (with shoulder pads and the like) spread to the rest of the world, and instead of Pittsburgh against Cleveland or any other rivalry, you have Iran against the U.S. - scary prospect.

In any case, emotions run just as high when England takes on France or the Ukraine takes on Russia. Kate and I, through freak chance, were able to land tickets to a game: Ivory Coast against the Netherlands. The stadium was packed with orange (Netherlands) fans, and you could only pity the Ivory coast players on the field, whose followers, due to lack of proximity and prosperity, had no hope of attending. The Dutch, however, convened en masse on the Stuttgart stadium in their motor homes and Opels, drunk as sailors and louder than any Raiders fan could ever hope to be. Kate and I went under cover. Here are some pictures from the chaos, as well as a bunch of inebriated Dutch doing the wave.

(Final score: Netherlands 2; Ivory Coast 1)