I am not a football/soccer person but every time I come to Asha in summer my dad and I go see the local football team in action. I like the feeling of belonging with the other supporters perched on the wooden benches, a bottle of cold beer in hand, on this cosy stadium surrounded by covered in green mountains.
Not to forget these sharp comments from the enthusiastic supporters who apparently know exactly how things should be done and are ready to share it with the players and the referee. They know each player by name and God forbid one of the guys decides to shirk. The insulted fans do not keep their breath responding with the comments that will make unaccustomed ears burn. Let us say it can get very personal. At first this kind of language and attitude threw me off but soon I realised it was a somewhat bizarre expression of love.
In one particular game in summer of 2004 our team was clearly superior and after scoring a goal made the mistake of thinking they could get away with just one goal. The bored public myself including literally made the guys come out of their coma and score another goal.
This time too I went to the game. In the paus we could all witness a few parachutists jump out of the plane over the field and making a few rounds around the stadium land in the very center – a special treat to the citizens in celebration of the town’s and plant’s anniversary.
On this particular occasion the whole town showed up on the stadium to watch the show.
One thing though. I discovered that the employers of the Metallurgical Plant – the teams official sponsor – are actually required to go see football games, on their free time, interested or not. The head of each unit gets lists with the names of the people who should be present at the game and a person (not a volunteer either) is assigned to witness their presence there. A no-show can be punished by a deduction from salary income. The joy on people’s faces seemed quite genuine though.
