Pazza Inter Amala

While the title of the post may sound like some sort of amazing Italian dish it actually means "crazy Inter I love it!" and is the catch phrase in the fight song for the International Football Club of Milan, Inter for short. It was my first real soccer match and it was fantastic! The walk up to the stadium had a carnival type atmosphere with fair food, inter gear everywhere, and the enormous stadium in the background. After I bought a souvenir scarf and downed a sausage and beer we went into the game.

Getting into the game was a bit different than I am used to. We had to show ID to get our tickets which had our names printed on them. We had to show ID again to get through the massive gates surrounded by security guards and riot police and into the stadium. While this scene initially made me apprehensive the number of families and small children in attendance calmed my nerves. The fans were absolutely amazing and everyone was chanting the whole game. One section completely lived up to the reputation of the crazy European soccer fans. This section lead all of the cheers, lit flares, and even shot some kind of firework after the first goal. Everyone else was pretty tame and typical of your average sports fan.

The game started out slow but picked up in the second half. I got to see Ibrahimovic score an amazing goal and also make a beautiful pass to record an assist for the second goal in a 2-0 victory for Inter. It was really amazing to watch one of the best players in the world showcase his skills as well as watch another victory on Inter's way to an Italian Series A championship. Unfortunately the season is almost over with the last game being in just two weeks. Hopefully I will be able to go see the last game where I will see Inter get awarded the championship trophy!