October 25, 2004

As anyone who has ever travelled to Europe knows, they love their football here. And by football, I of course mean what Americans would call soccer. Almost every day, I see youngsters or other college students kicking a soccer ball around in the Botanic Gardens or behind the residence halls.

A few weeks ago, I began to hear the buzz about a huge soccer game between France and Ireland in Dublin. I decided to see what all the hubbub was about. As the game was completely sold out, I had to settle for a big screen TV in a nearby pub. But someone told me that watching a soccer match in an Irish pub is just as cool and twice as crazy as actually going to the game.

Caution and fire codes were tossed to the wind as hundreds of locals packed into tiny bars all over the city. I chose the Botanic Inn, a hot spot for the college-aged crowd, for my World Cup qualifying game experience. It was standing room only, and so many faithful fans

had gathered to watch that you could barely move. I brought my friend Sylvain, who is French and also very interested in seeing the game, although he hoped for a very different outcome than everyone else in the place. I made sure to maintain a safe distance from him, however, so that I would not also be thought of as a ‘traitor’ to team Ireland.