Calcio Crazy

Calcio Crazy

For the vast majority of Italians, il calcio (soccer) is much more than a national sport -- it's a way of life. The general level of passion for the game exceeds that expressed by all but the most die-hard sports fans in the United States. In 2005 there were no fewer than seven prime-time television shows and four major national newspapers dedicated to soccer -- not to mention countless radio programs and local TV shows. In a country that's fine-tuned to nuance and inclined to see conspiracy around every corner, controversial referee calls can spark arguments that last weeks. In 2004, debate over questionable rulings in a match between Roma and Juventus (a perennial power from Turin) made it all the way to the floor of Parliament, where conflict between senators actually degenerated into a fistfight.

Nowhere is the passion more feverish than in big soccer cities, of which Milan is the prime example. It's home to two of the country's dominant teams: AC Milan and F.C. Internazionale (aka, Inter Milan). On game days, it is not unusual to see boisterous bands of fans wandering the city center, team colors draped across their shoulders and rousing team choruses issuing from their mouths. At the stadium, even the most innocuous games are events where chants, insults, and creative banners make crowd-watching an appealing sideshow -- especially the banners, which Italians affectionately refer to as sfotto ("razzings"). In the 2004 matchup between the Milanese teams, AC Milan fans silenced their rivals by unrolling an enormous banner that made fun of Internazionale's decade-long streak as runners-up, stating simply: "We live your dreams." Adding injury to insult, AC Milan took the game, three goals to one.