I just returned from my first ever Floorball game and it was really exciting. Michael, a guy in my class from the Czech Republic, plays on the local Arhus Elite team and gave us (Jimmy and Michiel from Holland went with me) some free tickets for the game. He moved here in September to start playing for the team. So I'm sure you're still asking yourself what Floorball is, and that's a very good question considering I doubt that anyone has heard of it before. It's not widely played in Europe, but it's very popular in Sweden.
The game is essentially hockey, but played on a court several feet bigger than a basketball court. It's three 20 minute periods, you wear tennis shoes, play with light-weight plastic sticks and the ball is basically a wiffleball made of harder plastic. Being the great tourist that I am, I forgot my camera so I can't provide any shots of the action, but I'll be sure to bring it next time to give you a better perspective. For now, you can check out the program.
Ok, so back to the action. The game started slow and ended great. The Bulldogs struck first in the 1st period, but the Elite quickly responded with the equalizer. After again trading goals in the 2nd period, things got really interesting in the 3rd. Both teams are at the top of the standings for the league, and you could tell there was some bad blood between them. Several penalties in the 3rd period resulted in goals. Within a :30 second span, the Bulldogs scored 2 goals to take a 5-3 lead. With their heads hanging low and their spirit all but extinguished, the Elite seemed destined to go home defeated (this wasn't actually the case I just wanted to add something creative). Down 5-3 though, it did seem though like a loss was imminent. Still down 2 goals with two minutes to play the Elite scored after a player got fouled near the goal. Realizing that they might actually make a comeback we got excited. In the final minute, there was a frenzy of action and the Elite scored the equalizer with :25 seconds left. They withstood a few near goals in the closing seconds to pull out a tie.
The atmosphere was one of the things that made the game so cool. Although the crowd wasn't huge by any means, maybe two hundred people, there were Floorball hooligans on hand with drums and horns. Despite having no idea what they were saying we chanted and clapped the whole time. After Arhus would score, they sang a song that went by the Frarazca tune. The whole atmosphere was very cool to experience. We plan to go to a few more games. The regular season is almost over, but Arhus is hosting the championship this year so that should be exciting. Michael told me the crowd is packed for that game.
I have a lot more to tell from the game, but I have to run now. Some guys from class are hosting a party tonight at their place. They live near an area that's experienced rioting in the last few days as a result of the Mohammed cartoons. One of the guys told me he walked by a burning car the other day on his way to school. Should be an interesting night! Hej Hej.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Speaking of games with wooden sticks, have you played a Dane in foosball yet? Okay, so maybe not wooden sticks, more like wooden characters (or plastic, depending on the table). Anyway, they are good. Don't get caught in a dark alley with a Dane and a foosball table. The liklihood is slim, granted, but be careful nonetheless. (They are pretty good in other venues as well.)
Post a Comment