Dramatic Victory Sparks Impromptu Block Party
There was dancing in the street and dancing in the plaza.
Italian flags, which seemingly appeared out of nowhere, were waved in the air. A band played, car horns honked and shouts of “Italia!, Italia,” rose above it all.
Italians celebrated Italy’s shootout victory over England to win the EURO 2020 soccer championship (held in 2021) with an impromptu block party in San Diego’s Little Italy. Ironically, the centerpiece of activity took place just outside an English pub. It was Italy’s second European Championship, the other one coming back in 1968.
The scene in Little Italy made one feel as if they were actually in a little Italian town. Any vehicle that went past the main plaza on India Street – be it a motorcycle, a car, an SUV or even a trolley tour bus – was surrounded by fans in blue Italia shirts. Those which honked horns got high-fives and cheers from the crowd.
Over the shoulder in the plaza, a band blasted music, including soccer’s international anthem, “Seven Nation Army” with its familiar, “ohh, ohh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhhh, ohhhhh,” chant.
The atmosphere was one of controlled chaos. Controlled in that it was confined to a small area just a couple of blocks. There was no violence, no cars being overturned or buildings being set on fire.
Chaos in that the area was suddenly swarmed with joyous Italians as if someone had stirred up a beehive.
And in a way that’s what happened and it was the Italian team that got their native countrymen (and women) buzzing. A tense game ended at 1-1 in regulation and went through two scoreless overtime periods before Italy prevailed on kicks.
During the game, people stood outside of restaurants and bars – and behind even the temporary outdoor seating complexes constructed during COVID – in the middle of India Street. Some places were five and six people deep.
So when Italia won, the fans could not stand or sit still and turned Little Italy into a big Italy celebration.
Leave a Reply