It's been so long since I've written in my blog, I'm sure some have given up on me. But after viewing the Champions League final game last night, I have learned another lesson from the Italians and that is this: passion makes everything possible.
It all started last week when my girlfriends Rina & Yselle wanted us all to get together with our husbands. The one reason (among many) that we clicked is all three of us are married to Italian men. So often we would get together over coffee and share stories and we soon found out that 99% of Italian men are exactly alike. Anyway, we decided we should get together this weekend with the husbands as well. My friend Rina emailed Yselle and I and asked, "Do your husbands like soccer?" Well, yea. I think if you are Italian you are born with a love for soccer. So we decided to all meet up at Rina's for pizza, birra e una buona partita di calcio.
Yesterday was Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich for the Champions League final and they played in Madrid. Inter is one of the Milan teams and they have had a very good year. In fact, the best year in 45 years. So the Duomo in Milan was set up with a big screen TV and by the time the game started, there were 100,000 people in the square. Luckily, we were going to Rina's house to watch the game, not the Duomo, so we thought we would be okay.
Well the only problem with this plan is Rina lives near the center of Milan and we live on the outskirts, in a small village. It's only a half hour by car but as we were driving in, we started to notice all the vendors selling Inter flags, horns, t-shirts and other items to be obnoxious with during and after the game. We started to notice the people with faces painted black and blue (Inter's colors) and we started to see crazy people dressed in black and blue lean out of their cars, blowing those horns in a can and yelling, "Forza Inter!!" to anyone who looked remotely like an Inter fan.
But we still didn't really get the hint that maybe it wasn't a good idea to drive into the city versus taking the train. We continued to drive, looking forward to good pizza, good company and a big, HD TV.
And the game was great. Or what I saw of it..mainly replays of the two goals Inter scored as us women were out on the balcony talking and drinking wine while the men sat inside, close to the television and watched in silent anticipation. They did exchange a few words, about the players or the coach or some play but for the most part, they were there to watch soccer. Not at all like us women who were discussing how we were going to escape the heat of Milan this summer or when was the next time we were getting together to do something fun.
So the game ended and Inter won. And we could hear the roar from the Duomo nearby. But we thought they would stay in the square and party a bit so that we would have a chance to get out of the city. No such luck. When Italians win a soccer game, they have to walk around in the street. And not silently. They have to blow their car horns or those annoying horns in the can. And they need to wave the flag of their beloved team. And they need to hang out of their car and scream while their friend tries to drive through a crowded street, filled with not only cars that can't go anywhere but often times crazy, excited Italians running around celebrating with joy. They bring their kids, their wives, their 80 year old mothers. It is a party-for the whole city. For Inter's home city is Milan. And it is the first time in 45 years they have won the Champions league. And they are happy. Passionate in fact. More than words can describe.
It would be have been amazing to participate with all the wild abandon of the Milanese. But my poor husband had to get up at 5:30 a.m. to fly out to his next assignment. So we weaved our way slowly through the traffic and ended up home 2 hours later.
So now I am inspired by by the passion of the Italians. For if they can be this passionate about soccer, I can certainly be more passionate about my writing in my blog.
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