S. Worthen | Weblog

There's a hush over the neighborhood. The bars are crowded, full with people, but none of them speak. They stare intently at the television, only occasionally remembering to drink. Green and red flags deck every store, and most of the houses. A woman sits behind at table by the side of the road, an array of flags and t-shirts laid out in front of her. Sales might have been good earlier today, but they'll be slow for the next few hours: the game's on for the European Cup, and England is playing Portugal in the quarter finals.

England has an early lead - they're ahead, 1-0, but it's early yet, and the game could go either way. I don't even need to follow the news to know who wins and what the score is: the sounds from the street will tell me that.

C. was sorely tempted to take the afternoon off of work. There are no lack of bars and pubs in this city airing the game this afternoon. He only briefly considered watching from around Little Portugal however - before self-preservation changed his mind.

The hush continues - the neighborhood is never as quiet as this in the daytime - but I'll be able to hear if anyone scores.

Update: And now the neighborhood is full of sound again - and probably will be all evening, since Portugal won. Portugal-England, 2-2, final score.