Day 7: "Soccer Mania"

After a very eventful week, my florrmates and I decided that we needed a day to recover from the trifles of classes and the excitement of exploration. However, that is not to say we did not have anything planned. A characteristic among my floormates that I am grateful that they posses is that they are all immense fanatics of soccer. While we have our differences, being that we all come from different backgrounds, soccer is among one of the unifying passions that we all share.

Being that this was the year of the most important soccer event, the Fifa World Cup, we all agreed to dedicate this day to watching the final between Germany and Argentina. We planned everything and decided to throw a miniature game watching party in one of the lounges to behold the spectacle that was predicted to be one of the best games in the history of soccer. As we all watched the pre-game ceremonies, we began explaining who we each felt had the greatest likelihood of winning. Remarkably, we were evenly divided between who we favored as the victors. When the match finally began, we all became very involved in the progress of the game. There were many others who joined us in the lounge and soon the room was filled with chatter as the game continued. Each play evoked a sense of excitement for those who favored one team, while nerves in the supporters of the other. It was really incredible to watch; everyone appeared to be united together, regardless of whether we knew each other, in excitement of watching. After a very long and nerve-racking game, the supporters of Germany cheered as they came out victorious from the match. 

A scene that inspired us all, Germany lifting the World Cup after a well fought match!

As we watched the awards ceremony, few of my floormates came up with the idea of playing soccer at Penn Park, the official sports facility of the university. Still hyped from the game, I naturally agreed to take part and we began gathering other individuals who wanted to play. When we had enough players, we walked over to the complex. Upon arriving, I was in awe at the magnitude of the sporting facilities. Apart from the main stadium that UPenn has, there are a variety of other fields that offer a wide array of sports to be played upon. Ignoring the heat and humidity, we played for around three hours before finally deciding to head back to campus and relax for the rest of the evening.

While not the Maracana Stadium in Brazil, Penn Park is still a great place to play soccer

Honestly, I agree my day may have been uneventful, but it was nice to have a day where more time was allocated towards leisure, as well as a day to prepare for the coming week which I had no doubts would also prove to be as enlightening as the previous.