My dorm is a mile and a half from Arsenal’s home stadium. It’s 1:30 in the morning and I hear a huge group of guys singing something out in the streets. A little quick research showed that Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-1 tonight. It’s really quite extraordinary.
And here come the police sirens…
I was once on the second floor of the Rotterdam Hilton near a main square on the evening of a football game between two archrivals (clubs, not countries). People laughed during the day about what I would see and hear that night. Instead, all was quiet. Both teams decided that a tie was in their long-term interest, and they basically kicked the ball around at midfield for 90 minutes.
By: phil schaefer on 3 February, 2008
at 3:17 am
We were also in a little hotel in Dijon, The Hotel du Nord, the night that Mitterand was elected president. The cars circled the hotel square and drivers tooted their horns all night long in celebration. We had to sleep with pillows over our heads. (Phil, it was Mitterand, wasn’t it?)
By: Mary Jane Schaefer on 3 February, 2008
at 11:33 pm
I was in Madrid when Spain won the World Cup. I (wisely? wimpily?) stayed inside and only heard the wildness, but friends of mine witnessed some real destruction (including ripping arms off statues, supposedly).
By: Molly on 4 February, 2008
at 11:07 pm
Oops, it wasn’t even winning the World Cup– it was just winning an early round.
By: Molly on 4 February, 2008
at 11:13 pm
I don’t blame you, Molly. It sounded a bit intimidating. Plus, from what I hear being tear gassed isn’t all that fun.
By: nschaef on 5 February, 2008
at 12:54 am