Soccer Sunday

This weekend was a mixed bag of new and old experiences. After staying out late on Friday, I woke up on Saturday with one goal in mind: finishing all my tedious homework. While it took almost my entire day, I was able to explore my host family’s neighborhood a bit more. While that was failry regular, Sunday was an incredible day, one that I will not forget. It was the first time that I went to a professional soccer game. While I have been to basketball, baseball, and hockey games, the energy of soccer games was completely different. Even hours before the game started, the fans were roaring with excitement. The load claps and chants filled the stadium, making me want to join in with the festivities. However, this was not the winning team. This was the losing team. Leverkusen, the home team, was not just playing Mainz. They were dominating them. From the first minute, the ball stayed almost exclusively in the Mainz side of the field. But the fans kept cheering. Even after Leverkusen scored 2 goals, with 5 minutes remaining, the Mainz fans did not quit. The Chaos Boys still waved their difficult to read flag. It was admirable and odd to see how dedicated people could be to a mid-tier soccer game. It gave me a new appreciation for soccer, making it my second favorite sport to watch live.