Tuesday, June 10, 2008

3-0

As a child, when my grandparents would get upset in front of me they would not want to corrupt my innocent mind with profanities. They would resort to Italian swears, but eventually I started to grasp the meaning for some of the phrases. Before last night, I did not hear many of these words in a long time. But by the time that Italy was trailing 2-0 to the Netherlands in the first half, I heard many of the same vulgarities that my grandparents would specialize in.

Before the game began, there was a buzz going around the city. It reminded me of Philadelphia before the Eagles squared off against the hated Cowboys. As a result, it was not suprising to me to hear the reactions of the Italian die-hards. When the Eagles lose, I thank myself that my family does not have a swear jar. The Italians were extremely audible with their dissatisfaction from the game, as profanities were being thrown around like it was a teamster's meeting. I do not understand much Italian, but every time a curse word was shouted I recognized it, and at the same time I felt their pain. Sports truly are universal. They wield the power to break everyone's heart, regardless of your culture.

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