Let’s go, Olaj, let’s go!

After spending most of the day listening to NPR and recovering from squash, this evening I went with Chad, Juli, Tamás and Dóri to watch our very own basketball team Szolnoki Olaj take on their evil arch-rival, Albacomp of Székesfehérvár. It was incredible. My only undamaged-by-squash body parts remaining, namely palms, throat, and eardrums, have now been battered down by screaming and clapping madly as Szolnok recovered in the final quarter from being 11 points down to win the game.

Having only Beloit to compare with (and Beloit not being what you would call an athletics-oriented school), I am amazed and enthralled by how sporting events here are as much about the crowd as they are about the game. They yell, they scream, they chant (including some things that were so vulgar, Tamás wouldn’t translate them for me. If you know Tamás, you know how serious this is). They blew whistles and noise-makers. They hissed and boo-ed the other team’s every move. They clapped, they stomped, the jumped up and down. They threw things onto the court. They taunted Albacomp’s fans (who were in their own section, behind a net and protected by police). There was no beer sold at this game because they were afraid of rioting. I think if Olaj hadn’t made their spectacular recovery, there might have been violence.

Overall, it was the most fun I’ve ever paid 1000 Ft ($5) for.