As a Canadian, the game of hockey has always been a big part of my life. I grew up watching the Edmonton Oilers win every Stanley Cup in the universe, beating the pants off of every other team in the NHL throughout the 1980s, making our neighboring Shelbyville Flames look every bit as bad as they’ve always been. Though wins have been pretty hard to come by for the last… um… 18 years for the Oilers, and despite the fact that the current inept regime of coaching and management seems hell-bent on destroying what was once a proud, honorable franchise, I’m still a huge hockey fan, and always will be.

So, when an opportunity to play on the company hockey team arose, I naturally jumped at the opportunity.

Wait, what? What kind of hockey?

Field hockey?

On Monday night, I strapped on the keeper’s pads and stood in stark defiance against the forces of… some other team… in defending the net of the 180 Amsterdam company (field) hockey team.

Field hockey. A sport I’ve never played before. Goalkeeper. A position I last played (in indoor ball hockey) twelve years ago.

Thankfully, my night went a little better than it did for this guy.

Actually, my night went pretty good, comparatively.

Not only did our team win my very first game as a goalkeeper, we got a shutout.

Scott’s lifetime record as a field hockey goaltender: 1-0. Lifetime goals against average: 0.00. I’m like the Jussi Markkanen of the Amsterdam co-ed recreational field hockey world.

–

So that was Monday. Wednesday was an entirely different beast.

On Wednesday, I went to my first pro European football (soccer, for the North American audience) match. The hometown Ajax FC were playing the second game of their 2-game set against l’Olympique de Marseille, and a co-worker of mine had bought me a ticket in thanks for helping him move a few weeks back.

Now, I’ve been to NHL playoff games. I was in Rexall Place in Edmonton the night that the crowd set the record for the highest decibel level ever recorded in an NHL arena. I’ve been to sporting events where you couldn’t hear yourself yell over the crowd. I’ve been inside arenas where the atmosphere can only be described as “electric.”

Last night’s football match made any NHL arena I’ve ever been in seem like a library.

Huge crowds of swaying, chanting, singing fans (all of whom had likely been drinking for 12 hours leading up to match time), passionate fans of both teams getting in fistfights, people climbing on each other’s shoulders and banging their hands, fists, and heads against anything that would make a noise, painted faces, flag waving, broken lights, thrown firecrackers…

…and that was all in the subway on the way to the game.

click for fullsize

As for the game itself, the home team lost, but it was still an amazing experience. Next time I go, I’ll have to get a solid 12 hours of drinking in ahead of time, as for major matches like this the entire ArenA (yes, that’s the correct capitalization, look it up) becomes an alcohol-free zone. Apparently a number of Marseilles fans were pulled over by the police on their way into Amsterdam for the game and had their weapons confiscated.

I like beer, but given the circumstances, I’m fine drinking soda for the evening if it keeps the armed, angry mob a little more subdued.

–

What did I do tonight? Lost a bunch of money in poker. You?