Orange
Thanks to Louis Bojko's suggestion to read Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer, I'm slowly coming up to speed on the history and unique style of our adopted World Cup country.Basically, and I hope I'm summarizing this properly, the Dutch team:
1) are highly respected for their sportsmanship.
2) are tremendously skilled
3) play a beautiful, attacking game
4) will lose to an inferior team that is harder inside and wants only to win
As a fan, that's all quite attractive, rooting for a brilliant, doomed team.
I've also been watching old YouTube footage of the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, as well as the Cruyff Turn.
And the history of Dutch soccer in relation to Dutch culture is completely fascinating. I've decided that we've adopted the Orange for life.
Lifetime adoption, unlike a single tournament adoption, requires gear, so I ordered us jerseys. I'll put up a picture of Eli 8.10 when he's kitted out.
I also would like to mention that I never understood how exciting a tie in soccer could actually be, but New Zealand's tie with Italy was absolutely brilliant. Desperation exponentially increases the excitement.
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