Euro Cup 2008

So, what could be better than beautiful weather, a day with nothing on the schedule, and a Prague beer garden? Not much. Unless, of course, you have all of those things and the Czech national team playing Switzerland in the Euro Cup 2008! The Euro Cup is similar in feel and importance to the NCAA basketball tournament, except everyone talks smack to each other in different languages. Also, they say things like, "This is for Austerlitz!" OK, they don't make reference to historic battles, but the rivalries and national pride are intense. If you don't believe me, check out the video of the Czech crowd singing its national anthem before they played Portugal below. It was amazing.

We watched the first game with a couple of our Fulbright friends at our favorite beer garden, Riegrovy Sady. The crowd was lively, the beer was tasty, and the Czechs won, 1-0. There was much rejoicing when the Czechs scored (check out pic #2), and we had a blast with Dave, Elan, and Zach, despite a post-game rainstorm.

Going into the tournament, the Czechs were favored to get through the first round, and maybe challenge for the championship, but they fell flat in their second game, losing to Portugal, and choking away a 2-0 lead against Turkey. Prague was devastated, but the city's suffering was alleviated by massive quantities of beer and sausage. The great thing about this was that we watched in Old Town square, and everyone was drinking and singing, chanting and cheering. It was a super positive atmosphere, even with a small knot of dedicated Portugal fans. Everyone had a blast, and how often do you get to drink beers, eat a klobasa sausage, and watch soccer in from of a church built in the thirteenth century? We love this town!

The big highlight, though, was the singing of the Czech national anthem, "Kde domov muj?" ("Where is my Home?"). We have definitely felt all year, and especially during the Euro Cup, that it was right here. Pojdeme Cesi! (Let's go Czechs!) Warning: the video is a minute long, and pretty loud. Adjust your volume control accordingly (especially if you're watching at work, and don't want to explain a Czech song to your boss).