It’s a warm spring night; the air is humid and a little breeze passes by. Walking down the stairs with my family, I have this feeling in my legs that I get when I’m excited. The city is Rome. But where we’re headed is an even more amazing place: The Olympic stadium… Tonight, the game will be tough. Our opponents are first in the league and are known for buying referees. As we start walking towards the stadium, we see more and more fans just like us. There is only one thing that we have in common with these other 25,000 people; yet that one thing is so strong that it has brought us here tonight, to see one of the most important games of the Serie A. 

   Walking up the stairs to reach our seats, I see people preparing their flags and scarves; smiles on their faces, and ready to cheer on their team with everything they’ve got. Finally I sit down and in a weird way feel the energy of every single Roma fan that has come here tonight. As the players come out of the dressing room, we stand to sing the anthem. “Roma! Roma! Roma!” we chant. The more the anthem advances, the louder it gets. As the final verse approaches, we get ready to give it our all. As soon as it finishes, I feel a shock of joy ripple through my body. A couple minutes later, all has calmed down just a bit. The first whistle of the night has finally been blown! We all know tonight is going to be a tough one. 

    As the players kick the ball, we watch attentively like a hawk preying on a fish. We all know perfectly well that there is a good chance this game might be lost. But that doesn’t mean we won’t try our best. As a spectator, there’s not much you can directly do to help your team. There is one thing though: “E Lunedi!” We chant… This now becomes a moral highpoint for our team. It’s only been 20 minutes and we’ve had a couple good chances. That’s the problem though: Our team is able to create a lot of chances but very rarely is able to complete them. We wait patiently and anxiously until the half time whistle blows. 

    As soon as the game pauses, the players return to the locker room to cool down and talk with the coach. While we wait, my uncle goes to one of the various bars and gets a couple sodas. To me, this is the most stressful part of the game. Even though nothing is happening, it is a time where there is the most reflection on the first half, and the most doubt on your team takes place. Shortly after, my uncle comes back with the sodas and we all start discussing the first half. All of us follow this set of unspoken rules where for example we have to say what we think of a specific player, or we can’t say that we’re going to lose. These rules have never been said or written down. You just understand them from the vibes of the people around you. It’s sort of like a superstition. 

    Right as the second half begins, we quickly take our seats and hope for the best. This year’s team hasn’t been very consistent with it’s game tactics. A few minutes go by, and the chants start to be heard again. My gut tells me we’re going to win, but my brain tells me otherwise.

    The game goes on until the ninety minutes; and the score has changed.

    I’ll let you decide how the game ended...