5 Ways To Better Enjoy Euro 2012
The Euro 2012 is finally here and with it comes the celebration, the enjoyment and the craziness that is football. However, being three weeks long and with a game taking place almost every day, following the Euros can be somewhat tiring and its no surprise that some stop halfway and just wait for the final. Here I include some of the ways that I think can make you enjoy the Euros better, especially if you’re halfway around the world, like me.
1. Pick a Team or Two to Support
This is a no-brainer. Unless you’re a sports analyst, there is no way you’ll be able to watch every single game there is. Even if you’re a true lover of the beautiful game, you’ll eventually feel tired of watching every single game of the group stage, especially if the games turn out to be shit boring. So, the solution to avoid those boring games? Just pick a team or two to watch.
This is one team…
Or pick a team or two from every group. That way, you can rest when the games being played does not have your team in it. This is especially helpful when you’re living halfway across the world from Poland and Ukraine and have to watch the game at 3 freaking AM. For me, I keep it simple and just watch the predicted champions. Or watch teams that have lots of players that you recognize. That way, while watching, you can think back how good those players are at their leagues but suck greatly at the international level (or the other way around). Another way is to watch the games that get all the hype such as the opening game or the highlighted important games.
… and this is another team.
For people living in Europe and have their own national teams, congratulations. To Asians who have no obligation to any European country, pick one and support them in the Euros. Trust me, you’ll watch the Euros better because of it. My choice? Germany and Spain! I also watch other interesting teams but I don’t support them though. I also watch for either potential upsets or demolitions. Those are fun!
2. Wear the National Colors
This sort of applies and doesn’t apply to people living outside Europe. People in Europe and have a team to support, wear you kits. That is perhaps the easiest way to be proud of your country and have fun with your compatriots as well. If your national kits turns out to be, toxic, just buy rip offs. Their quality is so poor that they barely last a week after heavy use. And in the Euros, there will be heavy use.
These kits may be toxic but at least you’re supporting.
As for those people outside Europe, just wear your favorite team. Its as simple as that. Wear the team that you think will win and support them by wearing their kits. And in non-European countries, where lots people won’t wear the same kits (some will wear Germany, Holland, Italy, England and even Croatia), it gets added fun as we debate about why each country will win the Euro.
3. Plan a Schedule
This may seem weird to some some Europeans who watches the Euro based on the games schedule itself and nothing else, but this is actually a very big deal for non-European countries. As I’ve said before, in Malaysia, we can watch the Euros games at midnight and 3 AM because we are halfway around the world from Poland and Ukraine. If we didn’t have a schedule, all hell will break lose as we becomes zombies the next day at work and school due to not having enough sleep.
Again, no need to remind you what happened to my teacher and my plumber during the 2010 World Cup.
Plan your sleep and work time around your game of choice. Sleep whenever you can for us Asians. Sleep is very important and if you have accidentally chosen to watch a boring match, not getting enough sleep will tire you out and before halftime, you’ll fall asleep. I’ve been there and it ain’t pretty. So make a schedule and sleep well. Simple as that.
4. Get Snacks and Drinks
This is also another no-brainer. You wanna watch the Euros but you have no food and drinks with you? What are you? A sponge? Get snacks! Get junk foods! Get Coke! If you drink, get beer. Do whatever it takes to make Euro-watching time your fun time. For me, Coke or ice cold coffee can do the trick. Imagine the bliss of drinking Coke while cheering for a goal… Priceless!
5. Get Together, Relax and Enjoy the Euros
The way I have been going about in this post is as if this was something truly serious. But in truth, it is not. It is a time for fun, for friends and for the love of the beautiful game. You don’t have to be stressed watching a game or else the true purpose of the games is lost.
Supporting from stadiums are overrated. I mean, as long as we’re passionate, wherever we are, its the same, right? Right?
What better way to enjoy the game than to invite friends over to watch? Or go out with friends and watch it on big screens at restaurants all over town. You may not get to be there in Poland and Ukraine but at least you’ll be cheering with your friends and to me, that is one of the best ways to enjoy your Euros. Have fun everyone!
EURO 2012 (from Malaysia)
It’s that time of the year again where not knowing anything new about football (soccer to some) can get you in deep shit. Not knowing or not keeping up with football will literally be met with jeers, leers and lots of nasty stuff. Keep up with football and maybe just know a little bit more will be awarded with smiles, laughter and a whole lot of brotherly (or humanly) love. Such is the awesome power of the European championships.
As I am writing this, there is less than an hour left till the opening ceremony in Poland where Poland will face off with the Euro 2004 champions Greece. I will be sitting in front of the TV watching every bit of it but I thought that for now, why don’t I just sit down in front of the computer, open my WordPress and just write about the Euro 2012?
As some of you might know, I live in a country in the South East Asia called Malaysia. Not that big a country but with proud culture and rich heritage. Ever since our country had achieved its independence in 1957, we have always loved football. We kinda suck playing it but we loved it. We are below the 100 in the world FIFA ranking but we still loved it. Football is even the national sport here and thousands show up when an international friendly takes place at the national stadium. Perhaps its something that was sparked by the arrival of the best player Malaysia has ever seen. His name was Mokhtar Dahari. I won’t elaborate much but he was given the name Super Mokh and had at one time been accused of using witchcraft because he was so good. His prominence would ignite the flame that is Malaysia’s collective love for the beautiful game.
Now, Malaysia and Europe are really far apart. Even English Premier League games are often watched at night when it is played in the evening there and is also watched at 3 AM when it is played night there. So that’s a really huge time difference. So what does it mean for games at the Euro 2012? Well, from the schedule, most games will either be 12 AM or 3AM Malaysian time. Those are late times to watch football, especially when it happens virtually everyday.
People will be literally dreaming this ball in their sleep for weeks. Media coverage has caused… inception.
So, the subject that I wanted to tackle (see what I did there?) from the beginning of this post was what does this mean for Malaysians? I decided to write this after being inspired by an article in one of the newspaper here in Malaysia. Basically, Malaysian fans, who are made up of people working from 9-5 and also students, will stay up late at night to watch these games or certain games that attract them.
I personally know how hard it is to time your sleep around football matches in Malaysia. Needless to say, its hard. I’ve watched every Champions League game Chelsea played and they were all at 3 AM. Sometimes, when I had school, I would sleep first then wake up at 3. When I didn’t have school, I’d sleep in the afternoon and stay up all night watching reruns of 30 Rock before watching the game. Again, needless to say, its freaking hard.
While he was playing… I was drinking coffee. I’m only human.
For Malaysians, we will probably see a collective Football Fever in which people, tired and exhausted from watching the game all night, go to school and work in that state. Performance will decrease and unless you know football, you’ll be eaten alive by these football zombies. This is also the time where we will see eyebags appearing from students and even the teachers know that its because of football because their husbands probably stayed up late to watch it too. You think I’m joking? This shit happened during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It’s real and it happened before. Football zombies, they’re real.
This shit is real. That’s my teacher on the left. The plumber’s on the right.
This thing is an epidemic but people just need to manage their time around the games. Manage it good and it’d be like nothing happened. Better yet, the ones who just love watching without caring for results can just watch repeats but who loves that, right? Football must be watched live to get the thrill and drama that football always has. The simplest solution for this problem of watching late at night, you ask? Just go to Poland and Ukraine. There, problem solved.
Fiction In Crazy Mode 