I just had my first Euro soccer experience two Saturdays ago. Managgia!!! What an experience! I have never seen such an energy packed stadium and fans more passionate and enraged towards their team! I reserved my seats about a week ahead of time and for some reason only EU nationals were allowed to buy tickets. So needless to say I felt privileged. I went with my roommates, Alfonso, Isabel and her friend Ana who are both from Spain. I reserved tickets in the section called Curva B. Apparently this is a section reserved for the season ticket holders and also the fan clubs who go to the stadiums and light fireworks in the stands. They also chant pretty much the whole game.
I guess the first thought that comes to mind is how different this experience is compared to all the sporting events I went to in America. Here are the differences: the fans in Napoli sit everywhere including the walkways to the seats. Fireworks in the seats which I don’t know if they are legal or not. Fans smoke and some even smoke weed. You would be looked at like you were a mental patient if you told fans to calm down and to not swear which I think is a rule in many stadiums in America, possibly Fenway. They didn’t play their national anthem. There wasn’t a working scoreboard but all the fans seem to know the score. The music before hand was the same stuff I hear on my dance radio station. But probably the most notable difference is just how much fans get into the game. They are wild 85% of the game and they had about 20 different chants throughout the game. Also in the seats, there were occasional mosh pits but no one was hurt.
For half time I had to use the can. I thought everyone would get up in droves to go there but no one was getting up! I had to climb over I don’t know how many fans just t get to where I needed to go. At the start of the 2nd half, I decided to find somewhere else to go as going back to the same spot was out of the question. So I found spot right in front as soon as you enter the stadium.
The game went well and the score resembled more a hockey score. Napoli scored first. Then it was tied. Parma then went ahead to make it 2-1. Napoli tied again and at that point it definitely seemed possible to win also since Napoli seemed to be on the attack. Then the end they fell apart and gave up the winning goal. They had a lot of shots on goal but couldn’t seem to stuff it in.
This was hands down the most authentic esperienza napoletana that I had since I arrived here in Sept. There were only Napoletani around me (one black actually) and I go to hear their protests mostly in dialect. Given the lack of rules for the fans in the seats and their passion for their team, it made this a more exciting experience than a game at Fenway. Although Fenway is still cool.
