Gladiators and the 2006 Champions of the World

Rome Day 3: Part 2 – the World Cup

Many of you may have noticed that when we were in France the French soccer team won as a huge underdog against Brazil to earn a spot in the semi-finals against Portugal, whom they beat. Then when we were in Venice, the Italian team beat Germany and set the stage for a final between France and Italy for the 2006 World Cup Championship. While we were in Rome they played the game in Germany. Italian soccer fans are insane. EVERYTHING closed for the game. Not one restaurant was open outside of our hotel. Fans had been honking horns and waiving flags all around town during the day. When we had taken a taxi earlier in the day, the driver didn’t speak much English, so I asked him if he spoke French. He responded with a chuckle and said, “Definitely not today.” The Cup was on everyone’s mind.

The game was a nail biter, but Italy won in a shoot out after the score was tied following overtime at 1 to 1. The whole area we were in went crazy. We could hear horns, fireworks, gun shots, people shouting, and more. The Circus Maximus site in Rome had over 500, 000 people. Brodie took a walk and snagged some photos of the revelry. Way to go Big Red, white, and green.