Dutch Soccer

After watching the Dutch crash out of the EURO 2008 Soccer Championships a little earlier today, I decided that I had no choice but to, once again, write about the agony of being a Dutch soccer fan. Not wanting to repeat myself, however, I went back and re-read my "Pity The Poor Dutch Fan Rant" from the World Cup two years ago in Germany. But after having read what I had written back then I realized that there was no need to try and re-write what had already been put so perfectly. So, here, once again, are the opening and closing paragraphs from that sorrowful rant of the summer of 2006. Absolutely nothing, it seems, has changed.

I hope you've all been following the EURO 2008 Soccer Championships since they started back on June 7th. There's been some pretty exciting soccer so far, with a few fantastic games and only one really dull one (France and Romania's 0-0 draw). Portugal, Spain and Croatia are all looking pretty good. However, as far as entertainment value goes, two teams clearly stand out 9 days into the tournament, one for their flair, flash and fabulous goal-scoring ability, not to mention all-round domination, and the other for their incredible heart and perseverance. I'm talking about the spectacularly talented Dutch and the never-say-die Turks, of course.

‏How much more money can the bloody Dutch national team cost me, anyway? That is the question. And, really, can't the whole world feel the pain of all the fans of The Netherlands? I'm not just talking about all the Dutch people out there, but all the misguided non-Dutch dreamers who call themselves fans of Dutch soccer too. I mean, World Cups and Euro Championships come and go and the Dutch crash out way too early, year after year after year... 8 years ago, 6 years ago, 2 years ago (4 years ago they didn't even qualify for the World Cup!!), it's always the same story. How many times can they let me down? Or, maybe the real question is, how many times can I be let down and still continue to believe? And, really now, how many bets - and how much money - are these bloody Dutch going to cost me in the end?