Soccer is upon us. I am not a fan so the whole Euro 2012 kerfuffle could easily have passed me by except for two things.
1. The mysterious desertion of the streets some evenings accompanied by occasional shouts of jubilation emanating from pubs and homes.
2. Orange.
The latter is everywhere: on people – real (The BB bought me a bright long-sleeved top, with insignia, for €2 at the local grocery store) and cast,
The man on the right looked rather fetching in a psychedelic wig the day before I took this.
on pillar (I swear these were brown when I arrived)
and post .
But the Netherlands is out of contention now so the orange lies dormant in drawers and draped around bed heads, awaiting the next national event when it will be put to use whipping up a good-hearted frenzy.
In the meantime, I am destined to watch the game tonight. Germany versus Greece. If ever there was an occasion where people might want to show their national allegiance this is it. Maybe the game will be only about soccer but some commentators suggest otherwise. I will be wearing white. It’s so easily made into a flag.
