Italy defeated Germany to move on to the finals against either France or Portugal. It was a major upset for the host country. Before the start of the World Cup, I was rooting for Germany to win because of the fact that they are the hosting country and they had home field advantage. But you never know what’s going to happen in soccer.

I managed to catch the final minutes during overtime. Neither team was able to score during regulation time. That’s when you know it’s a good game, when neither teams have scored and you’re going into over time. With soccer, I like the fact that they give you extra time to play and it’s not sudden death. So the first goal to be scored doesn’t win, not until time is up. During the last few minutes of the match Fabio Grosso of Italy scored. I went away to get something and came back to see the replay. But what I saw was something different. As it turns out, Alessandro Del Piero had just scored. I was a bit confused because first Grosso scored but they showed a replay of Del Piero’s goal. I think the first goal by Grosso affected the Germany team which allowed Del Piero to score only a minute later.

The Italian crowded were all up on their feet celebrating. The German crowded remained quiet. The camera showed a German play on the ground with this hand cover his face. You can tell he was saddened by this. I wouldn’t blame him. It’s hard to lose when you’re the home team especially when it’s an event as big as this.
This tournament has a lot of heart put into it. It is an event that doesn’t happen every year but when it comes around, the number of people that tunes in to watch it is a lot. I live close to an Italian and Portuguese community. So when their teams win, I hear about it. Horns are flaring for hours on end. These people are cheering for their country the best way they know how. Even though they are not in Germany right now to watch the game in person, they tune in every chance they get.

When it comes to sports, I don’t like to watch it much. I would prefer to play it instead. But over here in the western world, sports are overrated and players are over paid. The only time I think these players play their hearts out is when they are playing for their country. That is why I would rather watch hockey during the Olympics rather than the regular season. During the Olympics, you are playing for your country and not for money. I don’t know if they get paid to play in the Olympics thought. I think winning the gold is enough of a payment for their efforts. Just knowing that you tried to best for you country is what matters.

I can hear the horns flaring around in the Jamesville area. I know sure if it’s safe to run errands in that area right now. The streets are probably closed off for the celebration.

Update:

As expected, James Street was packed! It was swarming with Italians, young and old. People were in their cars honking their horns like nobody could hear them. People on the streets were going around shaking the hands of people in the cars. Girls swearing an Italian soccer uniform were running down the streets.

It felt a little weird being the only Asian guy in the area standing around and just watching. I doubt anyone noticed me because they were too busy celebrating. There was one girl, who was standing in the back of a truck bed that keep whispering something to her friend and then looking at me. Well, she was probably shouting something because it was rather loud, but it seemed like she was whispering. Maybe something like, “That handsome Italian guy looks like he’s Asian. That’s sooo sexy!” But then again, I couldn’t hear her so I don’t know.

After about thirty minutes of horns flaring, flag waving and girls screaming, the Police decided to block off access to James Street. There was a large crowd starting to form between Barton Street and Cannon Street so to prevent anyone from getting hurt, they blocked the street. Any car that managed to get pass that barricade were redirect away from the crowd. Leave it to the Police to ruin the fun eh.