Vienna vs. Netherlands

Last night I had my first European soccer experience! Matt had been once previously, but this was my first time! It was a friendly match between Austria and the Netherlands to help both teams prepare for the Euro Cup 2008 coming up this summer. So put as many layers on as possible, and prayed we wouldn't freeze to death. (Keep in mind, it has been snowing here, and is in the low 30's with crazy cold-bitter wind).
This is the Stadium, about 30 minutes before gametime. The only seats open when the game started were the higher blue and yellow ones. It was a packed house with over 40,000 people there!

I have attended some pretty roudy athletic events in the States, but nothing compared to this. They were nonstop. They were always doing a chant, or a cheer, a "song," or screeching in an extremely high pitch when they didn't like something. Really, they didn't stop the entire game. Well, they did stop after Austria lost their 3-0 lead, and in fact, people just started leaving. It was pretty funny!
I know you can't tell, but this is the crowd on their feet cheering their hearts out. Seriously, I bet they burn a ton of calories!!

Austria went up fast 3-0, which was a complete shock because they are not that good of a team, and the Netherlands is. At the end of the first half, it was 3-1, Austria's lead. the crowd was going crazy. Then it was 3-2, with 20 minutes left to go. Austria subs off its best two offensive players. Then it is 3-3, 15 minutes to go. Then, with about 5 minutes left in the game, the Netherlands scored another goal-4-3. (This is when the cheering stopped and people started leaving). I still cannot believe Austria ended up losing when they had a 3-0 lead. But secretly, I was cheering for the Netherlands the whole game!

Thought I should include a picture of the actual game!

And to top things off, we didn't even get cold until the end of the game! It was great to be able to sit back and relax, and enjoy someone else doing the work. =) Thanks so much to the Pacheco family for buying us the tickets, and granting us an experience we never would have had on our own!

This is a picture of a HUGE Austrian flag that was waved periodically thoughout the game. You can see a lot of other smaller, more manageable flags. I thought it was pretty cool.