I must say I'm pretty bummed tonight, this will be the second game in a row I will not be seeing. My boyfriend plays pro ball and I came over to Greece to take part in the adventure, the only problem is I've only been able to see one out of the four games he's played so far. The reason you may ask? Well I can say for the last game, I wasn't feeling well but for the other two games there is a common theme and that is rowdy fans!
For Kyle's first game in Athens I was told it probably wouldn't be best to come, because the opposing team's fans are known to get a little crazy. There was even rumor that they once lit a dog on fire because it was the same color as the other team. So I definitely wasn't going to get myself involved in that. On top of the fans, his league was going through a strike and the players union planned a protest during the game. Right before the tip-off a group of players from the union rushed the court and sat there, because of the delay, cops in riot gear were forced to come out an remove the players. I was so happy I wasn't there to witness that because Kyle said it got a little crazy for a minute or two .
Now there is tonight's game against Olympiakos, at Olympiakos' arena, no fans are allowed at tonights game because last year their fans got so crazy during the finals, that Olympiakos now has a penalty for six games. The penalty is that they are allowed no spectators. I didn't find this fair because I wouldn't be going there to cheer for Olympiakos anyway, but rules are rules and I'm not about to break any in a foreign country. Olympiakos by the way is one of the best teams in all of Europe, so I really wanted to see my guy play against them.
I thought college basketball fans were rough, but they don't hold a candle to these fans. Sometimes I wonder if they are even watching the game, or are there just to cause a raucous. So tonight I will be watching the game from the apartment, which stinks. But my guy knows I'm there in spirit cheering him on.
Go Ikaros!
This is a clip from Kyle's first game, when the players were on strike. Kyle and the other two Americans Deon and Pat can be seen on the upper left hand corner not getting involved.
This clip is from the game I actually got to see live. Kyle is wearing white, number 12.
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