Learning to waltz, Wienerschnitzel-style!: SK Rapid Football Game

So, if you can believe it, I pass by this stadium whenever I go to the subway...I literally walk about an 8-minute walk away. I've seen the LOADS of fans coming and going after the games and so I decided to go out and support me local team - SK Rapid (Sport Klub Rapeed - remember that in just about every other language an 'i' makes an 'ee' sound ;)

Verena, the mom of the family where I live, fitted me out with an official SK Rapid football/soccer scarf! It's THE thing to wear when you go to football matches in Europe...or maybe a jersey, but I digress...

Here are the fans getting their boozin', sausage-eating and other stuff 'on', whilst the sun drops into the West....

The environment was quite boozy, loud, party-like and smoke-filled, but I have to admit...I liked being around all the people...

First view from below....hmm...lookin' good, if you ask me...

WOWZUHS! How cool is that?!!

Here is the opposing team - KSV from Kapfenberg. The dad where I live, Andreas, is ACTUALLY FROM Kapfenberg...so I guess his 'loyalties' were mixed this night...especially since Rapid is known as the 2nd best team in Austria and Kapfenberg isn't :)

Here 'we' are - SK Rapid, green and white!

Ready 'em up!!

Here are the upper stands where my ticket was...don't worry...the seats soon filled in with loads of smoking, drinking and for the most party REALLY AWESOME FANS!!

SK Rapid Fans...it's like they know all the players, they know the cheers...VERY cool to experience their 'Fandom'...

Here on the scoreboard we're being welcomed by the SK Rapid team....

Ahhh, thanks guys.... ;)

I was sitting next to a guy who was trying to figure out why I was taking so many pix, then he saw my T-shirt and I guess he got it, that I wasn't from 'round these parts, so he offered to take a pic of me. I got to say it - I find Austrians to be rather nice people...especially when comparing them to other German-speaking countries ;)

Here are the fans I was sitting with....they look 'subdued', but don't worry, they 'got with it', especially after we'd score...they 'taught' me what to do by example....I 'swang' my scarf over my head in a circle...now if only I could understand the 'cheers'....

I TRULY felt sorry for these guys...these were the Kapfenberg fans....so few, so...'fatalistic' ' well, we know we're going to lose...'

But they came on out anyway! Good for them!

And they're off!

In the end, the Kapfenberg team played really well...there were points where it was tied...and and and...

These are the fans in 'BLOCK WEST' - apparently you have to be a VERY dedicated fan to be over there...or just on meth or caffeine or something like that. They pretty much never stopped singing or cheering THE ENTIRE GAME! WOW! What energy!

The other thing I thought was funny is some of the cheers, a lot of them in fact, are 'American folksong tunes'. Watch this video and try to make it out? So, yes, they sang cheers to tunes like 'Oh my darling, Clementine'; 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' (Civil War song); etc. VERY FUNNY!

Then suddenly with still maybe 10 minutes in the game BLOCK WEST let off this huge smoke bomb! It was SO odd?! I can't imagine something like that...being allowed, but it was....

I just didn't understand its 'purpose', if you will...

And then what was even more odd was watching this cloud of smoke slowly, but surely, move its way across the playing field...

WHAT?! How can this be allowed? Me no get it...

And literally this was the way it was for about 3-5 minutes OF PLAY TIME!

Literally this guy had a penalty kick...it made me think of the part in 'Far and Away' where Tom Cruise is supposed to have a duel and suddenly there is all of this mist and neither of them could see...very ODD if you ask me for a football match, but 'when in Rome'...I mean Vienna....