Soccer Super Bowl

Wednesday night I watched a soccer match on TV from beginning to end. Soccer games are long, and compared to American football they’re kinda boring. But this was the European championship and it was far from boring. After the regular 90 minutes had passed, the teams were tied 1 to 1 (exciting, eh?). They then played 30 minutes of extended time and still came out tied at one goal. Now the penalty kicks start. First Manchester, then Chelsea. After five penalty kicks they had each missed one – still tied. The intensity is quite palpable (fancy word – look it up). There are about 15 of us in the Chesnut’s living room. The young boys (some of them are my students) who have been trash talking on either side are quiet as each penalty kick approaches. The first team to miss loses. On the eighth penalty kick the Chelsea player failed to score. ManU’s goalie had clinched the championship for his teammates and I had watched my first complete soccer game.

The game was held in Moscow. It started at 11:00pm and ended well past midnight for those attending the game. I heard on the radio that over 100 million people worldwide watched this match. It was 11:15pm when I went and found Melanie asleep on a couch upstairs. Yes, this was a school night for both of us. Bad daddy.

Sporting Observations

Soccer is king in Kosova and all of Europe for that matter. There’s also volleyball and basketball here in Pristina, but they’re a distant second. Karate is another sport that is prominent enough to hold competitions.

Marbles. This is the king of neighborhood sport, kinda like kickball in America. Several kids gather around an unmarked, circular area and flick their marbles toward various targets (other marbles, depressions, rocks) to see who gets closest. The rules evade me, they are probably different depending on whose patch of dirt you’re using. Often matches reduce to shouting…kinda like kickball in America. Outside our kitchen window I’ve actually seen a kid 'take their marbles and go home.'

May Day

We could see nine bon fires from our patio, some within yards, others in the hills several miles away. We could hear the villagers cheering and singing around the fires closest to us. It’s a competition of sorts. A tradition carried out on the eve of May Day, which is Labour Day here in Kosova.

While America doesn’t make much of May Day (May 1), it is a festival with a history predating Christ, and today it is celebrated all across Europe for many different reasons. It’s pagan roots have been Christianized or secularized over the years. May 1st is approximately half-way between the summer equinox and the winter solstice, in Catholic circles it’s a day to celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary, it’s mostly known as International Workers Day and often hosts as many protests for worker’s rights as festivals for youngsters and families.

Wikipedia tells me: Long ago the May Day custom was the setting of new fire. The fire itself was thought to lend life to the burgeoning springtime sun. Cattle were driven through the fire to purify them. Men, with their sweethearts, passed through the smoke for seeing good luck. I don’t think the folks here were thinking of these associations, they were just trying to make the biggest bon fire that gave off the most black smoke and had longlasting embers.

Good luck to you and your sweetheart. Smokey says, “Don’t play with fire”.