I’ll start this post by stating that I’m not a huge fan of soccer (as evidenced by the fact that I call it soccer in the first place). As a Canadian, it’s not really a sport that is big in my country at all. And as someone who has spent time recently watching it, it’s a sport I find sort of boring. Scratch that, I was being overly-polite. Pretty boring. All these tie games? And that’s it?!! No sudden death, or worse, games ending 0-0 seeming to be quite common = brutal. After investing 90 minutes, I want some sort of closure.
What I will say is great about soccer is The World Cup right now. And being in London for it all is incredibly exciting. The atmosphere here is pretty unique and surely much more intense than what is going on back home. All of a sudden, there’s England flags/merchandise everywhere. People are filling the pubs, streets, squares and gardens of the city, donned in patriotic facepaint, flags as capes, etc… to cheer for their country. While my country didn’t even qualify (unsurprisingly), I can get into the frenzy of it all simply by vibing off everyone else’s excitment.
Last Saturday, me and some friends went to watch the US vs. England game at the Canadian pub in London (none of that makes sense, I realize). Surprisingly, the pub was dominated by Englishii and while the result was a tie, the atmosphere was great and a fun night out (minus the fact that I spent £40,000 on overpriced, imported but delicious Moosehead).
Tonight I was knackered after some long days at work this week so I decided to lay low. But I headed to Sainsbury’s to pick up some food and on my way back, the streets were full of loud, excited Algerians, dressed in their kit and waving their flag. My area of the city is pretty diverse, with a big Algerian and Somalian contingent, and it was fun to walk amidst them all going crazy as the match was going on.
Even the Pringles in this country have been temporarily re-branded (see image below) to support World Cup fever. And I think it’s brilliant.
I was just going to laugh at that Pringoooal picture and then realized I have that exact can o’ chips sitting in the next room. Also, it’s actually pretty crazy in Toronto at times re: World Cup and I can’t walk anywhere on a break without seeing a game on a TV screen – even in a Booster Juice store! The IT guys at work have 1-2 TVs going as well so I can’t refresh myself at the water cooler without the soft hum of the vuvuzela.
Also, it’s flag city up in hurr. I’d say the Italians running around screaming “ITALIA” is annoying, but really we were used to this in everyday highschool life. Right? Right?
Anyway, I don’t much enjoy any of this soccer hoopla, but I’m glad you’re having a blast with it! Miss ya!