Soccer City
14th January 
no responses · Blog I like sports. I can’t say soccer is on the top of my list, but I like it well enough! I mostly like it when hot soccer players pose topless in ads for perfumes, watches and such. Oh well they sold their soul to advertising! We get to see them showing off their ripped bods and that is just dandy for me!
What I find fascinating about soccer however is the mass craze it creates. Whole nations go crazy over the silly ball.
This little photo essay is from a few years ago, when I decided to hit the Danforth, Greek neighborhood in Toronto the very day of finals of the World cup in Soccer. I live in the Portuguese area and I kind of contemplated just walking down the street and checking out a pub in my hood. But at the same time, I was kind of sick of all the car horn honking and screaming that went on right below my windows.The Portuguese, you see, were in the finals too!
The Greeks were ready for a big victory. The game had just started, but the main road on the East side of the city was closed off to the traffic awaiting the crowds. People were crowding around pubs, restaurants and cafe’s watching the game and hoping for their team to bring it home.
And I can tell you, the soccer fans know how to celebrate! These guys were dancing and singing in the street. Dressed in Greek colors, even those that were not Greek! With white and blue and red and white flags in their hands and painted faces they wanted to share their excitement about the victory of their favorite team.
This was long ago enough for me to still shoot with my Olympus and several rolls of film. Wide angle lens in a heavy crowd is a must! When everyone is inches away from you and you have no room to step back to get a good shot, the wide angle lens makes wonders! And I love how it distorts parts of the image!
As much as I love film, having bought a 16 gig memory card for my camera was a smart move! Now I could just walk around and shoot my heart out, instead of reloading rolls of film after every 36 exposures! You don’t miss out on anything!
You can see the rest of this story under the people section of my website!
I just love this guy in the Maple Leafs Hockey jersey! So Canadian! Eh?