the beautiful game

Here in Belgium, we are in the throes of Euro Cup fever. Every day I go into work and there is usually a discussion on last night's/last weekend's game. And every night the streets come alive with horns and shorts of supporters of whatever team has been victorious that day (as a native Torontonian, this isn't new). In this neighborhood, it's Turkey (though we saw some Croatian flags when Croatia was still in the tournament). One of my friends lives in a Portuguese neighborhood. I was downtown in the beginning of the tournament and it was Germans waving flags. Last week, I went to a local bar to watch the Portugal v. Germany game. The bar we wanted to go to was packed to capacity. They had set up huge flate screen TVs to show the game and a large crowd filled up the sidewalk, spilling into the road. In the bar we ended up going to, there were three screens in one room, all showing the game.

None of this is new or even unexpected. It’s not a surprise that Europeans like soccer. But what is surprising is the complete single-mindedness to which they pursue this love, to the exclusion of all other sports. I’ve been in Europe for about a month or so. In my time here, I’ve never seen anyone play anything other than game or activity on the street. When we were on the tour, some guys went to a nearby park and jumped into a community game of soccer with local kids, just like that. I think this picture says it all.
I took it a few weeks ago. Notice the crowd of kids on the left side. They’re playing soccer. There is a basketball net there as well, so when I walked by I thought they were playing basketball. Excited at this monumental occasion, I got my camera out. But they weren’t. Maybe the designers had hoped to get children into basketball by putting the net there as well, who knows.

Is there something about soccer that makes it more attractive to Europeans? Is it the physical activity? The artistry in the ball control (you can see where my allegiance lies)? Is it because soccer only requires minimal equipment whereas hockey and American football requires loads of padding? Because involves only a ball and a net. Is a climate thing? In Canada, there is a large distinction between summer, winter, fall and spring and so it's common to play sports according to the climate. Is it a cultural thing? I don’t know. But I do know that I don’t see a future for basketball here.