VIVA ITALIA! Photo a Day, June 9th

I'm a soccer freak - I'll admit it. I wasn't always this way though. I only became a soccer freak back in the summer of 1994 during the 1994 World Cup.

My boss at the time was such fun! He'd let us (the office staff) slack off and watch the games in his office and serve cappuccino (I kid you not). The only condition, was that you had to cheer for his team:



And that's how it all started...my addiction to soccer. Now, the good news is, even though I'm addicted...it's only every two years. I don't follow soccer year round and don't claim to know the ins and outs of "friendlies" and various other matches. I do know what offside means, what being "fouled" means and that a yellow card is bad, but a red one is worse.

And I still cheer for Italy, much to Scott's and Lauren's chagrin as they are both England fans (though Lauren is still miffed that England let Beckham go - she's still bitter about that).

I don't have any Italian blood in me...not a drop. But that doesn't matter. I still cheer for my Italians despite the fact that Baggio missed a penalty kick in the final game back in 1994 resulting in Italy losing to Brazil. In 1998, Italy didn't even make it past the quarter finals (they were beaten by France) and in 2002 they didn't even make it past the round of 16. It was sad, but I didn't switch teams...despite DH making fun of my Italians.

In 2006, my loyalty paid off! Italy took the title! WOOT!!!

Now, this is my first year watching the UEFA cup and it's been good so far. I've got my score sheet at hand to keep track of who wins what and I'm monopolizing the TV (sometimes) for the good games. So...at 2:30 this afternoon, don't call me. I'll be settling in to watch my Italians beat the Netherlands. According to Scott (and several announcers), Group C is the "Group of Death". We'll see how that plays out...

VIVA ITALIA!!!

Thanks for stopping by!