Bandy Finalen
Trip Start
Aug 18, 2011
1
22
41
Trip End
Ongoing
Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
Sunday, March 25, 2012
It was a fast paced sport that was hard to concentrate on because you could not always see the neon orange ball. I think that they needed to replace the ball with a black one. I talked to some people who watched the game on television and they said that they could not see the ball at all.
Victor and I went to see the finale because this was the last time that it would be held in Uppsala. Next year the final will be moved to Stockholm where they have built a new stadium. Neither of the teams came from Uppsala, so we were not exactly supporting anyone, although the team that I began rooting for did win in the end.
We had a good vantage point up high at the top of the bleachers, however that could change at any moment depending on if someone stepped in front of me, because, and this was the strangest part, when you watch bandy you stand. This may be why the sport is not that popular in the states, you have to put effort into watching the game. Literally for two segments of 45 minutes we stood on bleachers squished between other people cheering for the game. It would have been nice to sit down for a little while, but I stuck it out and stood for the entire time.
The skaters were good, but I have to think that the girls who took part in the opening ceremonies were the better skaters. They wore full length gowns and had to carry balloons that were being pulled by the wind. The fact that none of them fell was the most impressive skating that I saw all day.
Sandviken and Villa Lidkoping were the two teams that were playing. Sandviken won the game with 5-4 victory. They had been winning by a lot more, but Villa Lidkoping worked hard to close the gap in the final minutes.
When Sandviken won, even though there had been announcements not to, the fans rushed the ice. They mobbed the players and then started a small party on the ice while waiting for the players to get their medals and the trophy. Somehow the players got from the mosh pit to the second level of the stands to get their prize. Now that they season is over they have to go back to their real lives. Many of them, even though they are professional athletes have other jobs or are students. Maybe the other diva team sports should take a look at that and stop complaining that they did not get another zero on their paycheck.
The sports event was great fun. However, walking back from the stadium was not. It was the throngs of people who were walking with us; it was the men who scurried into the bushes to take care of some personal business. I am sorry I saw no women doing this and there were bathrooms that they could have gone to. Maybe they should have gone easy on the beer and spared us. This act is illegal, and even though Victor says it depends on the circumstances and what you define and public, there was a playground not far away. Plus there were police all around, but I guess the roughly 20,000 people who needed to be corralled drew attention away from those who would have done better to hold it.
Apart from that the day was great and the atmosphere was a fun place to spend a Sunday afternoon. We will see if we want to trek all the way to Stockholm next year to watch it again, until then my inter-bandy on Tuesday nights will take care of any needs that I have for a sub-hockey sport.
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