World Cup in Little Italy

It's World Cup Final Day! And the natural thing to do is hang out in Little Italy with all the flag waving, horn honking, "Italia!" shouting crowds. I emerge from the Jean-Talon métro station at lunch time so getting some sustenance is the first order of business. There's a Vietnamese restaurant nearby without a TV so I bypass the football mad crowd and fuel up on Vietnamese instead of Italian noodles.

After lunch I wandered into the open air market, Marché Jean-Talon. Amidst the fresh fruits and vegetable stands I found a small Italian restaurant and watched the game on their large TV. I wasn't alone standing beside the patio as a small crowd of onlookers gathered as the game progressed. The crowd groaned as Zidane made his penalty shot into the goal scoring the first goal for France. But the tide can turn quickly in soccer and 15 minutes later everyone was on their feet cheering as Materazzi evened up the score for Italy. A few minutes later shock and disbelief as the power on the whole block and many other blocks of Little Italy went out and we were left in suspense over the game.

I made my way across the street to Café Zanetti where they also had a patio and large plasma TV. The crowd was larger here as everyone who was blacked out gravitated to this empowered oasis. The minutes ticked by but neither side could manage another goal. A sudden rush by Italy put the ball in the net and everyone jumped up and roared but were quickly silenced as it was declared offside.

The crowd was on their feet and shouting again for a very different reason. What was Zidane thinking for deliberately head-butting Materazzi? The crowd jeers and hurls epithets at the TV as the ignoble moment is replayed again. I don't blame them as it's certain to become one of the most shameful sporting moments in World Cup history.

After two hours of play it's still tied at 1-1. The tension is as thick as the humid afternoon heat. Everyone knows that it's down to penalty kicks to decide the World Cup champions. As Italy's fifth and final penalty kick goes in, Little Italy just explodes!

It's New Year's Eve, Canada Day, and the Pope's visit all rolled into one. Everyone streams into the main street of Little Italy, boulevard St. Laurent. The entire street from sidewalk to sidewalk is filled with deliriously happy Italians. It's a wave of red, white and green, and Azurri blue parading down the street. The noise is deafening with people employing everything from whistles, to horns, to pots and pans. A semi-trailer truck parked on the street has its air horn continuously blaring. The entirety of boulevard St. Laurent is closed to traffic from rue Jean-Talon to rue Beaubien–the whole stretch from métro station to métro station. The street party will last well into the night, but I have to move on.