- I know this was taken BEFORE the Italy-Germany match, but...
While the starting mood of Euro 2012 was marred by accusations of racism from the hosts Ukraine and Poland, I found my behavior was guided more by wanting to cheer on the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain), the countries being hit hard by the Euro crisis.
When I heard it was Germany v. Greece--I just wanted to Greeks to kick Germany's arse so badly for all the austerity measures being foisted on the PIIGS. In fact, contrary to normal nature, I was cheering on the PIIGS whenever they went up against Germany.
Ultimately, it was Spain who beat Italy to gain the title while I would have preferred to see Germany duking it out with a member of the PIIGS for the title, but at least it was a member of the PIIGS who won!
One of my friends, who is an economist made sense of all this since he realised that subconsciously I was cheering on the underdogs in the economic Euro crisis. Although, BBC's World Have Your Say delved into this issue as well and I have to admit that yes, it is far more than just football. So, maybe any tinge of Euroskepticism is illusory as I know full well that the Economic Euro also has to succeed for the European Union and Economy to thrive. Deep down, I want to see the Euro thrive.
