The stars were bright. Fernando.They were shining there for you and me.For Liberty. Fernando.Though I never thought that we could loseThere's no regretIf I had to do the same againI would my friend. Fernando.My contribution to UEFA Euro 2008's atmosphere was to lead a hodge-podge English-speaking contingent in a rendition of an Abba song in honor of the final match's only goal scorer. And so my month of football ends with a solitary goal by Fernando Torres to give Spain their first Cup victory in 44 years. The last time they won, they beat the Soviet Union. In all fairness, the last time Russia won, it was the Soviet Union.Everybody is crediting Vienna with being a great host city, and in many respects it was (good weather, not too expensive, great Fan Zone), but to give Vienna all the credit overlooks the seven other cities (four of which I saw) that did an incredible job hosting. And on that note, I really wanted one of the Vienna host city t-shirts, because I've spent so much time here and the city has really grown on me, but by the time I headed into the store, alas, they were sold out. I might try scouring the city today looking for one, though I don't know what that might turn up.It went much quicker than I thought it would, and was a lot more fun than I could ever have imagined. And the football was really good, too. But it has been an incredible experience, being here, and many of my favorite parts of it never made it into this blog or into emails back home, so I thought I would take some time on this ultimate Vienna hangover day and recount what really stood out to me on this tournament, from the ground level. So, in chronological order, and not necessarily in order of greatness, I present my favorite moments of being at Euro 2008.Saturday, June 7The first game was also a Switzerland game. Despite their atrociousness, the Swiss fans loved them, and it was a great introduction to the world of European fandom.Monday, June 9Determined to get where the action really was, and having fallen in love with the city two days earlier, I decided to take a train from Basel back to Bern for the first group 3 games - France v. Romania and The Netherlands v. Italy. The Netherlands-Italy game would be played in Bern, and I got my first taste of what actually happens at tournaments like this.This was before I was a Holland fan. It wouldn't take long for me to become one. When I say that Bern was completely orange, that would be an understatement, because it supposes that I'm exaggerating. The water coming out of the city's fountains was orange. The air surrounding everything had an orange haze because of numerous smoke bombs. Orange paint splashed on the road and buildings. And everybody, everybody, was dressed in orange.Holland completely routed the World Champions Italy and quickly became the tournament's favorites. But I didn't realize this at the time, I was too busy being mobbed by a group of orangemen that was way too big to fit into the fan zone.On the train ride back, which took a little more than an hour, I sat with a group of three Dutchmen, who introduced me to everything great about the team, its history and why I should cheer for them for the rest of the tournament. I happily obliged and bought my Holland jersey the next morning.Thursday, June 12I'm not really sure who played this night, but it was one I spent in Grindelwald, which has by far been above and beyond my favorite adventure within this larger adventure and my favorite stop on this whirlwind tour of Europe. Not really related to the tournament, but fun nonetheless.Tuesday, June 17By this time I was fully entrenched in my Dutch fanness, and was proudly cheering them on as they played Romania, already having qualified for the finals. Since there's an entire post on this evening, I won't go into much more. But you should read that post if you haven't.Wednesday, June 18The final night of group game saw Russia play Sweden, a match that would determine who would and Spain play Greece. I was in Zürich, and thinking that there wouldn't be a big turn out of fans for any side, I thought I would just stay in. My hunger led me out. The reason the night was so good, aside from being Andrei Arshavin's stunning first appearance in the tournament, is that the Fan Zone was packed with Swedes, and every time I turned around I heard someone speaking exactly like the Swedish chef from the Muppets. Gobbly-gobbly.Friday, June 20This was the night I managed to get tickets for the tournament's second quarter final between Croatia and Turkey. If its any indication of how easy it was to get tickets, as of last night there were still leftover t-shirts for the match on sale.But the house was packed, and the game went into extra time, where both teams scored in the last possible minute, pushing the game into penalties. At this point everybody in the stadium was going incredibly crazy. Most people don't like penalties, because they don't establish who was the better team. That's probably true, but they are really exciting, giving us numerous chances to cheer.Most incredible thing about the night, however, is the fact that I ran into Alex Lim, who just happened to be sitting right behind me.Sunday, June 22Not thinking that I would get to go to another game, I was surprised to overhear a scalper offering tickets for less than face value. I promptly took him up on it, and made my way over to Ernst-Hoppel Stadium.I was deep in the Spanish section for their game against Italy, a team I wanted to see lose anyway, so I gladly assumed the mantle of Spain fan for the evening, and a man next to me even lent me his scarf for the evening so I could cheer properly and not look too out of place. Since the quarterfinals started, it was the first time a team I wanted to win actually won. It also gave me a good reason for cheering for Spain as they progressed through the rest of the tournament.On top of all that, I got to practice my Spanish, which I haven't really been able to do since fall semester, and probably will never have the chance to do again. And I got to beat on my neighbor's obnoxiously large drum, which is just fun.Sunday, June 29Obviously, the final was always going to be one of my favorite moments, it was just a matter of why. While I wasn't able to procure tickets at a reasonable price (they we're going for 500-700 Euros, and I figured I'd rather be able to eat for the next month), I wasn't alone.When I woke up in the morning, I wasn't sure who I'd be cheering for, but I trusted that my answer would come in due time.And then the German fans turned hostile. Vicious. Jerks. In To Hate Like this is to Be Happy Forever, author Will Blythe is questioned by a young boy why he so adamantly cheers against Duke. He responds (and this isn't a direct quote): "Because they're bad people." "All of them?" the boy replies. "Yes, every single one of them."The German fans are all bad people. I didn't think this until yesterday. But on the whole, they were obnoxious, rude, crass, and just unfriendly. Like hurricanes they left a path of destruction in their wake. And here I was not hating anybody, and just because I wasn't German I was being ridiculed.They hate the Dutch, for no other reason than the Dutch hate them. It's a long historical rivalry dating through two World Wars and climaxing in 1988 when the Dutch beat the Germans in the Euro Cup, where they celebrated throwing bicycles in the air. For more information of this wonderful rivalry, check out the first chapter of Simon Kuper's Football Against the Enemy.So, decked in my Netherlands jersey (because any time Germany plays, Holland has a reason to cheer) and a Spain-colored wig, I headed out into the taunts and jeers of drunken German fans, armed with the wonderful retort, "Actually, I'm American, and we've beaten you in two World Wars, and Spain's going to win," which managed to eke some smiles out of drunken German fans.A British man I befriended adequately described the atmosphere here in Vienna, "It's like a freaking colony here." One could say it was sympathetic to Germany, but that would be an understatement. While there were a couple cells of Spanish fans, but overwhelmingly, the mood was pro-German. Makes sense, seeing as they're neighbors, have radically similar cultures and the same language.Which is why it was so great when Spain scored in the thirty-third minute and Germany just fell apart. And as the game wound down, and Spain just kept firing shot after shot at the German defense, the German's just sulked out of Fan Zone, and when the 90th minute rolled around the Spanish fans (who were now much more prevalent) erupted in jubilation. I knew it would be a good night after that.Viva Espana.Also, in chronological order, my favorite goals of the tournament:Wesley Sneijder - Netherlands v. Italy, June 9: Total Netherlands "total football," as the Dutch swept almost the full length of the field to finish in Sneijder's right-footed goal.Arjen Robber - Netherlands v. France, June 13: As if to say that getting scored on by France didn't really mean anything, less than a minute after the French goal, Robben dribbled around two French defenders and took an incredibly odd-angled shot to hit the net.Wesley Sneijder - Netherlands v. France, June 13: Shot hit the underside of the crossbar from right outside the box. Beautiful goal that showed just how good the Netherlands were in group play.Michael Ballack - Germany v. Austria, June 16: One of the best free kicks I've ever seen.Andrei Arshavin - Russia v. Sweden, June 18: After missing the tournament's first two games, slid at full speed to catch a pass from Yuri Zhirkov to show why he would become the most talked-about player of the tournament.Bastian Schweinsteiger - Germany v. Portugal, June 18Semih Senturk - Turkey v. Croatia, June 20: In the last minute of extra time, trailing 1-0 against Croatia, the Turks made their third miraculous comeback of the tournament on a goal that seemed to come out of nowhere. Not really a pretty goal, but great for what it stood for.Dimitri Torbinski - Russia v. Netherlands, June 21: Another goal that showcased Arshavin's ability to play make and why the Russians are a force to be reckoned with in international soccer once again.And I guess Torres' goal last night, simply for the fact that it won the tournament, but it wasn't anything really spectacular, just a lot of determination.Look them up on YouTube, I'm sure they're there.
