Gothia Cup

Today we left the island to go to the city for the international football (Soccer) tournament, the Gothia Cup (which isn't actually a cup.)  It is said to be the largest youth tournament in the world.  Kids from 30 or 40 countries with thousands of players.  More the two hundred games over the week long event.

Today and tomorrow are the finals.  It's kind of a weird thing going to watch games and cheer for teams and people you have no connection to.  Cheers like "Go guy on the yellow team" and "Hey Ref. Common! The guy on the purple team totally fouled the guy on the Red team!"    Full investment is important. 

Yellow team vs Purple team

I did get into the games and by seeming random chance started to root for a one team over the other.  No rhyme or reason, it just happened and because I was cheering  for one of the teams my wife, kids father in-law and nephew also cheers for them.   We had a fair sized cheering block.  I wonder if the players on the teams wondered who we were and why we were cheering for them... I hope so.  

I ran into a team from California from a city very close to where I grew up. I wore my Seattle Sounders jersey which they recognized.   It turns out I cheered against them in one of the matches, the one they got eliminated in. I doubt I had much to do with their loss. 

I don't consider myself superstitious except when it comes to sport.  I know that if my team loses its because I didn't  cheer loud enough, wear the right clothes, stand at the right time or God forbid my wife tries to talk to me at the wrong time.   

In all honesty I really don't know what it is I'm cheering for.  My teams or teams I've chosen to root for are never entirely the same from year to year. They are made up of people I have never met nor will I ever meet.  They represent cities that most of the player did not live n prior to signing with the team and if they are traded.  If the player leave the team and join another team they will become an enemy and I will hope against hope they will fail.

My teams The Dodgers, Lakers, Kings and Ducks from Los Angeles,the Seahawks and Sounders from Seattle and the Stealth, Silvertips and Aqua Sox from Everett.   Of all these teams I've only been to see half them live, the other half have experienced through the magic of T.V.  

It's really odd thing. It's almost like cheering for a group of player I've never hear of playing for a team I have no connection to.