CALCIO!

The US is one of the few countries not obsessed with soccer.  Here in Italy, calcio is huge; I get the impression that fans never miss out on the game.  I've listened to it on the car radio and watched it on tv with Italian friends; if there is a game, they find a way to follow it.  The home team here in Firenze is Fiorentina, sporting team colors of purple and red.

I have been to two home games, neither against rivals, but both with fans acting like the Red Sox and Yankees were competing in the playoffs.  For the first game, I went with a large group, but my roommate and I bought the "wrong" tickets.  They are very strict about people staying in the section of their tickets, probably to prevent riots.  So we went to the Fiesole side of the stadium while everyone else went to the Ferrara side.  Turns out we were on the wild side which was worth being separated from the group.  The fans had huge flags and were singing the entire game.  They had loudspeakers so that one man could lead all the cheers, his voice was raspy by the end.  When Fiorentina scored a goal, you would have thought they won the World Cup.
The second game we went to was on a rainy night during the week so it was not as crowded.  The dedicated fans continued to cheer like crazy.
I had not seen much professional soccer before, preferring American football, but the players here are amazing.  The ball is passed from one person's foot to another person's head to another person's head.  What a sport!