The Swiss Adventure...: Dijk Breaks – Oranje Sea Floods Basel

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Dijk Breaks – Oranje Sea Floods Basel

Only a few hours before the big quarterfinal match, and already the Dutch have mounted an offensive out of Bern and have begun to overtake Basel. Every tram stopping on the edge of Basel Zentrum pumps more Oranje into an already saturated city. “Hup Holland, Hup Holland” can be heard among the many horns, fussball chants, and cheers. It appears as though every one in town is somehow drenched in Oranje. One guy, with the flare of inebriation, was spotted walking through the crowd with a whistle stopping those without Dutch support and flashing them a Yellow card. The variety of hats and regalia are so vast and ridiculous, that you only feel like an ass if you don’t have one. Only a few Red shirts from Russia could be found, not just swimming in the Oranje Sea, but also the Rhine. Even the store windows are washed in Oranje with anything that the proprietors could find. Euro Cup 2008 is fully underway, and as a Host city for Switzerland, Basel has witnessed the Triumph and Tragedy of Portugal, the Final Drive of the Swiss, the Upset of Czech, and the Victory of Turkey. Tonight is no exception at the Dutch hope to continue their winning streak as they face off against Russia. In the first round Holland beat Italy (3:0), France (4:1) and Romania (2:0), with the help of some spectacular goals from Sneijder, and van Persie. The Russians have kept themselves alive after a crushing defeat by the Spanish Armada (1:4), a win against Greece (1:0), and a fight to the end against the Swedes (2:0). It appears that this is only the beginning of the storm, as the surge in Basel is scheduled to continue at least until kickoff tonight at 20:45 at St. Jacob Stadium when the entire encampment of the Dutch in Bern make their way to Basel. By 22:00 tonight the Swiss government may need to call in the troops to reinforce the city against the Oranje invasion van Nederland. We’ll see as the game plays out tonight.

The Oranje Sea...