Morning of Mourning and Madness

[Juliet Evans, a writer and journalism student based in San Francisco, filed the report below. In the fall she'll relocate to Rome for a semester.]

June 24, 2010
Morning of Mourning and Madness as Italy Loses Chance At The World Cup
People gather in North Beach to witness the final Italian game of this World Cup

San Francisco, CA- Depression hung thickly in every particle of fog outside of the Steps of Rome Café this morning as the last viewers of the Italy v. Slovakia game trickled onto the sidewalk. This same thickly swirling mist hadn’t seemed nearly as bad two hours before as I entered this trattoria in North Beach. But after almost 95 minutes of painful game play, the fog acts as yet another insult to injury to these dejected Italian fans.

I, however, am elated. For almost two hours, I sat enthralled by a sports game. This has never happened before. Maybe it was the perfectly brewed latte I was handed upon entering, or just the rush of being surrounded by so many emotional fans, but something has finally clicked for me, which is saying a lot since I didn’t even know how soccer games were scored until the first goal was made 25 minutes in.

The goal, made by the Slovakians, was the first of 3 goals that the winning team would make. As this first point was scored I was delighted to witness a great display of emotion as the men and women in front of me smacked their heads and jumped up and down screaming ferociously at the television, this was going to be a lot different then watching the Super Bowl with my father.

By half time, the same place seemed as if it is on a brink of a riot. One man, decked in a whistle and waving ref-cards, ran around the crowded shop blowing loudly and alternately screaming in Italian and waving his home-made cards. Suddenly the two attractive young women, who had been standing in a corner getting ogled by the men, climbed up on the counter and started raffling off Italian swag. In their tight white outfits and sky-high heels, the two shimmied as they gave away prizes and conducted beer-chugging contests.

I have to admit this was not what I ever expected to witness before nine in the morning, but it was highly enjoyable and helped keep the early morning game-watching lively. Jumping up, vigorous clapping and yells of “AYE” occurred almost constantly as the game continued. And the self appointed ref in the room, continued to blow his whistle liberally, as did the man behind the counter with his vuvuzela.

The women were slightly more subdued, but not by much. The woman seated next to me spent most of the first half of the game sipping her coffee and shaking her head. During the second half, she was on her feet screaming with the rest of the crowd.

At minute 73 a second goal was scored for Slovakia, making the score two-nil. The beautiful Italian couple to the side of me stood up and stalked out without a word, followed by seven other discouraged fans.

The now shattered faith in their team showed visibly on the faces of those left behind. But, for a while there was still a glimmer of hope. At 80 minutes in, Italy scored. The caffe went nuts, and there were high fives and kisses all around. With three minutes left, Italy scored again, but it was not enough to save the game or rescue the Italians’ morale.

When the game finally ended, the two hours of yelling and waving came to a halt. This typically loud country had been silenced for the moment here in San Francisco. But as we all headed outside, I realized with pleasure that my love of the game has only just begun to gain a voice.

[Graphic: still from Flip video.]