 Day 187: Sad for the Blues |
When the Maroons scored for the 4th time in a row in the first half, a guy at the table next to us got so angry he slammed the table spilling his beer and tossing food.
When Thurston was down on the ground in agony because of his knee injury, a woman behind me was brought to tears.
It’s a passion. Sports bring out the emotions in people, create rivalries between states and countries and overall give a sense of pride (or the opposite).
We watched game 3 of the State of Origin between the Blues (New South Wales) and the Maroons (Queensland) last Wednesday in a bar in Balmain. It was packed, and it was a good game to watch (even if the Blues kept messing up left and right).
The passion in the crowd was in full force, as mentioned in the examples above, and even though I really have no interest in rugby, it was awesome being able to watch such a big match with loads of passionate people.
It reminded me of the soccer games I watched in Spain and Italy where the entire crowd was chanting and cheering. It made me think of the big baseball games I watched as a kid.
Have you had a memorable sports watching event on your travels? Share it below 
Its amazing how much passion some people show for sports. I have some friends that i tease often about how they react to games and losses. Its as if they have a stake in the team or they are playing themselves. Its great to watch and be apart of.
I agree – such a great experience, but yes, I do find myself wondering just why some people get soooo worked up over it. It’s kind of crazy when you see people brought to tears over a game
1998- My friend and I enter Amsterdam during the Netherlands vs. Argentina World Cup quarterfinal game. Getting off at Central Station, we are greeted by a ghost town. We walk empty streets to our hotel, the hotel owner flings our room key at us and says ‘pay tomorrow-game is on’. We get into the room and watch the Dutch score to break a 2-2 tie in the 92nd minute. From our room balcony, we watched the city explode in a sea of orange. Walking the streets that night, we witnessed first hand how much Europeans love their soccer teams. It was a little overwhelming for me, but I had been to Amsterdam before. For my friend who’d never been overseas, it was too much. After an hour of walking, we returned to our hotel to wait until morning to try and get a glimpse of what Amsterdam looked like most of the time.
It’s one of my most vivid travel memories.
Wow, what a time to be in Amsterdam! I can only imagine how crazy that contrast must have been for you.