Let’s not discuss the soccer match. We were rather ‘desu’, as we say in Beirut. Although we put up a pretty good fight, it was not in the stars. Theo did ask for some mind melding, a type of ‘happy clap’ to jinx the Portuguese, but to no avail. Allison was glad she had taken her valium pills before the match, Anne needs therapy to get over this one, and someone else, I forgot whom, was going to pass by the pharmacy to pick up some Prozac. The commentator did mention that some sideline members of the Portuguese team were nearing cardiac arrest toward the end of the game. However, that did not materialize. So ‘desu’ is the word.
I guess nothing else remains then but to lie on the beach and wallow in our misery. It was just getting fun, these soccer matches at the Riviera.
I had adapted to the general atmosphere in society, and hung a gigantic flag of Holland over my balcony. This was done only to compensate for my son’s Brazilian flag. I guess I will have to remove my flag now that we have become obsolete.
There is a ‘veritable’ war of flags going on in town. On just about every street corner, and in between as well, there are shops that sell the flags of the world cup participants. Brazil seems to be the overall favorite. You’ll see cars with flags (and not just a few, but a lot), flags from balconies, flags stuck on the back of little scooters, flags in shop windows and above cafes, restaurants and bars, flags just about anywhere. Every time one of the favorite teams (Italy, Germany, England, Argentina and Brazil) win a game, people seem to be getting in their car, hang a few participants out of the windows with flags, and tour, while honking loudly and constantly, for hours and hours through town. (This can be quite annoying. Read this post http://jamalghosn.blogspot.com/2006/06/tale-of-two-cities.html)
I guess nothing else remains then but to lie on the beach and wallow in our misery. It was just getting fun, these soccer matches at the Riviera.
I had adapted to the general atmosphere in society, and hung a gigantic flag of Holland over my balcony. This was done only to compensate for my son’s Brazilian flag. I guess I will have to remove my flag now that we have become obsolete.
There is a ‘veritable’ war of flags going on in town. On just about every street corner, and in between as well, there are shops that sell the flags of the world cup participants. Brazil seems to be the overall favorite. You’ll see cars with flags (and not just a few, but a lot), flags from balconies, flags stuck on the back of little scooters, flags in shop windows and above cafes, restaurants and bars, flags just about anywhere. Every time one of the favorite teams (Italy, Germany, England, Argentina and Brazil) win a game, people seem to be getting in their car, hang a few participants out of the windows with flags, and tour, while honking loudly and constantly, for hours and hours through town. (This can be quite annoying. Read this post http://jamalghosn.blogspot.com/2006/06/tale-of-two-cities.html)
You don’t really have to watch the games anymore; the score will announce itself through loud noise. All you need is to look down from your balcony, and check the flags to see who has won. The only thing missing is the score, but who cares?
1 comment:
Beirut’s flag obsession is hilarious yet I also fell for it in 1998 where I had the Dutch flag hanging out of my window in Hamra. And the madness that goes around when a team wins is ridiculous. The sense to belong to a winning team is so great in Lebanon that the people will supporter a team as if Lebanon was actually playing.
OH and the game on Sunday was horrible, there was a deadly silence in Amsterdam. I was in physical pain afterwards and couldn’t sleep the night. We might have been robbed of a penalty but having more than 20 shots on goal and none enter is inexcusable. Oh well, eurocup is 2 years.
Post a Comment