Soccer Game: A.S. Roma vs. Lazio

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Wow what an experience. So I went to my first Italian Soccer game at it was amazing. We showed up just as the game was starting and as we walked up to the stadium it started to look like a warzone. There was papers everywhere and empty canisters that held shots of espresso with armeretta. We got into the game easily and were able to find our seats amongst the crazy Italian crowd. We got the more expensive sits in the middle because the end zones house the 2 teams crazy soccer fans and can be somewhat unsafe. On the one side you have A.S. Roma who is the younger team from Rome and is more popular (maybe because they have Roma in their name) and on the other side you have Lazio, who is the older team and from Rome also but named after the region Rome is in. So you have two teams from the same city battling it out and it is absolutely nuts. This is supposed to be the biggest game of the the year since it's such a big rivalry and is notorious for its riots and out of control fans. The game was non stop cheering, waving of flags, cursing. They have the middle strip of seats by the mid field completely empty armed with security because both sides are fighting to get a hold of the other. There were huge explosions like sounds of a canon, some of which shook the stadium. I'm not sure if they were used to settle the crowd or snuck in by the fans. Not to worry though we were in the top tier away from any of the violence and were able to divert our attention between the game and the crowd without having to feel like we were gonna get beat up. The soccer itself was good. There were 6 goals throughout the game which is above average so I was a very exciting game. There was fight on the field as well due to the rivalary. In the end, it turned out to be an exciting game and Lazio beat Roma 4-2, which from what I hear was unexpected since Roma is supposedly the better team.

After the game ended we headed straight for the doors. As we walked down the stairs and exited the stadium we saw lines of Riot police as a barrier between the Lazio and Roma fans. We exited on the Roma side because we were sitting right next to there side during the game. When we exited we heard a Lazio fan yell something (probably something about them winning or how Roma sucks) and then there was a mad dash of Roma fans towards Lazio. Guys were taking their belts off to use as whips and people were using there shirt to cover there mouth, I don't know whether it was to hide their identity or maybe they were afraid of being gassed. We even saw one guy run pass a Roma souvenir stand, rip a scarf off the rack without asking, wrapping it around his hand, and running towards Lazio. Jordan, Laura, and I thought it would be a good idea to leave before anything got out of hand. On the way towards the exit we stopped by the Olympic track which is pretty cool and lined with statues of athletes. This stadium once held the Olympics so its a pretty big structure. Its huge with a capacity of over 72,000 fans (not as big as Penn State) with a big circular roof that extends over the seating area. All and all it was an amazing game and unforgettable experience.

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Comments

[Laura Sahyoun]

Team Spirit
Al, what's really in the coffee? How can I get some? These are the descendants of the crowds that cheered in the Collesum when it was up and running.

[michael]

request
I really like that Hercule statue. Could you possibly send me a larger version? [e-mail] Thanks. Interesting article on how volatile those Italians are. I wonder whether they have always been this volatile.