Cesí! Cesí! Cesí!

I'd never been to a sporting event outside the US. A bunch of kids from my program went to see the Czech national hockey team take on Finland last night at the major arena here in Prague. We heard about the game from our Czech teacher, who told us that Jaromir Jagr was returning from Russia to play for the Czechs, but sadly he had the flu and wimped out.

Getting into the arena is much more of an ordeal than in the US. They did not have many doors, the lines were really long, and they had metal detectors. But it was fun to stand crunched between Czech hockey fans and begin to get into the atmosphere of the game. The arena itself was really nice, I guess it's only a few years old.

I think my favorite part about the game was that both of the intermission games involved beer. In the first, two teams competed, rolling kegs around the ice (pictured). I didn't really understand the second, but I think people were running around the ice on normal shoes (so sliding a lot) picking up beer and drinking them. But interestingly enough, very few fans were drinking. I'd expected it to be like a football game in the US, but the fans were much more quiet. Even in a hockey arena, I felt like a loud American.

Another of my favorite parts was the food. Naturally, I worried about the price, but it was actually the same prices as anywhere else in the city. I paid US $6.00 for chicken nuggets, french fries, and a beer. I really liked how they group chicken nuggets and beer... I guess it's the Czech Happy Meal.

The crowd sound was pretty interesting throughout the game. Whenever Finland scored, the arena was completely silent. And the general quietness was often interrupted by "Cesí! Cesí! Cesí!" (Which I'm guessing means "Czechs! Czechs! Czechs!") and we proudly joined in. Sadly, the Fins came back from a 3-2 deficit at the end of the second period and won 5-3. But when the game ended, the crowd erupted in applause, which shocked me. I guess sportsmanship is pretty important here.

Here's Skolská 30 (my roomies) at the game!

Our program is going on an overnight trip to Cesky Krumlov on Sunday and Monday, which I've heard is a beautiful town a few hours south of us in the Czech Republic.