My Journey to Italia

Basketball in Siena?!

So I’m just back from seeing an Italian basketball game. It was Siena vs. Berlin. It was a really fun and interesting experience. It’s always fun to go to any event, especially a sporting event, in Siena because everyone is always so enthusiastic and totally behind their team. It was no different tonight.
The stadium was packed with people, and the Siena section was totally filled with people weaving green and white banners, their was a drum that a guy beat throughout the entire game, lots of yelling, scarves waving and songs being sung.

The indoor stadium was actually pretty near my home stay so I walked there and back. It was nice being around so many Italian’s who were there just to support their team. I really like the feeling of being part of the community and participating in something special to Siena. The stadium was pretty big, and as I said, pretty full, as was the snack bar and parking lot. We walked in right when the teams were being announced and found some seats near the top, but still in perfect view of the court. The Siena team is green and white, with a duck as their mascot. I was surprised to see so many black guys on the team, just like in the US. My friend Alex was saying a lot of players from the US who just can’t make the NBA come play in foreign countries like this.

Basketball was actually surprisingly very different in Italy than in the US! First off the, key was in the shame of a triangle, with a wide bottom and smaller top, and the three point line wasn’t as far away. As far as actual rules when, goal tending was allowed, and there were lots of times when balls were slammed or knocked away from the baskets. The teams seemed a lot slower, less aggressive, and I guess just overall less polished than American teams. The players didn’t seem to be quite as cocky-aggressive as they are here. And everyone was a lot smaller. No big Shaq here. Both teams made a lot do dumb moves too, lots of missed shot opportunities and just poor shooting overall. And although they were less aggressive, there were a lot of turnovers and people falling on the floor. Also, the center took the ball out a few times and even dribbled under the basket! I’m not saying these guys weren’t good, because they were, but just not as super good as I’m used to, or maybe not even that, they just played a slightly different game. Siena won though! That was really cool! Nice to see everyone so happy and singing pride fully the song of Siena.

The cheerleaders were also a lot different here. They were more like dancers than cheerleaders even. And they were so petite! Most Italians are already so, but they were especially so. And they weren’t provocative at all. Instead, they looked more like little girls and their outfits seemed very 80’s inspired. They looked like real people, they danced well, with lots of amazing splits and turns and jumps and flips, but they all had different hairstyles and colors, and they weren’t plastic looking like the cheerleaders at home. Like I said, their dancers weren’t sexual at all, they were cute and a little strange. One included a ballet dancers, a… something dancer on a table, and a hip-hop dancer. But that was the only hip-hop in the whole performance as that type of music and dance is not nearly as popular here as it is at home. The rest was just lots of jumping and such. Oh, but it was great, two girls actually fit themselves through the hoops in one stunt, I was truly amazed! I don’t think I would fit through a basketball hoop but now I’m tempted to try… And they were wearing leg warmers for most of the stunts!

It was a really fun experience though and I’m really glad to have been able to go. The study center got us tickets for only 1 euro too so that was great!

posted by Madeline Faye @ 2:40 PM