Viking vs. Rosenborg

Yesterday I went to a soccer game. The stadium is a generous walk away, and considering that there is no parking near the stadium, I hoofed it. In the rain. Lise's brother offered his cousin's season ticket. As I approached the stadium, I saw mobs of people walking to the game. I don't know if they all live in the neighborhood, or if they had to park a few miles away.

We had good seats- meaning that we were out of the rain- unlike the players. I noticed two of Lise's cousins from the other side of the family sitting one row behind us. At "halftime" I bumped into two coworkers- who were attending the game separately. Stavanger can really be a small town sometimes. Football is a strange sport when you attend a live game. Basically, the fans object to any decision in the opposing team's favor-- no matter what. I cannot imagine a worse job than officiating a soccer match. The line judge on our side of the pitch looked exactly like Jim Carey in Me, Myself, and Irene, which lent a comic air to the proceedings.

The game ended in an unsatisfying tie. There was pedestrian gridlock outside the stadium as I left. A new train stop in under construction, and the sidewalks have been rerouted. With the rain, and the construction zone, there was a very muddy mess. It was raining quite hard by this point, and the walk home was all uphill-- literally all uphill for a few miles. I was a tired, wet mess by the time I arrived home. There is something very cool about being able to walk to a pro sporting event. It reminded me very vaguely of living downtown Minneapolis, a few blocks from Target center, and walking to Timberwolf games. Except here, I was walking home through the woods- rather than an urban landscape. It was a good night.