15 Maggio

Sunday was the big day. Yup, you got it: the Roma derby. AS Roma vs. SS Lazio. Roman football doesn't get any bigger than that, even if both clubs have declined in recent years, now sitting just midtable in Serie A.

I spent the morning and early afternoon walking around city center looking for a power adapter, the one thing I forgot to pack, without success. The one Ferramenta near the Termini was closed on Sunday.

So I headed back to the hostel, then walked over to Stadio Olimpico a little after 2pm. The stadium, which officially seats 82000, was already filling up. The chanting could be heard a block down the road.



I was seated in the Tribuna Tevere Centrale, section 29C, row 26, seat 6, which is approximately halfway up the stands at the 18-yard line. Curva Sud was filled with hardcore Roma fans, while Curva Nord was the section reserved for Lazio fans, since this was technically a Roma "home" game. Tribuna Monte Mario was only half full, probably because a seat there cost 100 Euros.

Roma skipper Francesco Totti, easily the most exciting player on either team, was out injured, so the match itself was a rather drab affair. Antonio Cassano and Vincenzo Montella failed to threaten the Lazio goal at all, while Paolo di Canio was equally quiet at the other end. In midfield, Daniele de Rossi and Fabio Liverani looked comfortable, but essentially cancelled each other out.

So a fitting 0-0 scoreline in the end, but the atmosphere was second to none. Emotional and passionate, Italian fans will scream and shout and gesture and curse with the action from beginning to end. Made me realize how much NHL has become entertainment rather than a sport. Stadio Olimpico had no fireworks, no music, no jumbotron, no spotlights, barely even a scoreboard (only shows the teams, the score, and the time on a clock, that's right, a clock, no fancy digital stuff). Yet the fans are totally riveted to the action, jeering with every foul, cheering with every chance (few and far between they may be). Go to an NHL game, and you'll realize how many distractions there are, from rock music blaring to jumbotrons showing replays, commercials, and closeups, from ice-girls and cheerleaders to stunt-performing mascots. If you ask me, they need to make it about the game again.