Football (and by football I mean soccer)

Local sporting events are a great way to get a feel for a community. While in Albania I had the opportunity to go to a local football (soccer) match with a guy from the hostel I stayed at in Saranda. We caught the minibus and headed to the neighboring town.
The pitch was not the best I've seen (a mess of dirt with patches of grass) and quite frankly neither was the match. But then it's small town Albania - what do you expect?
We arrived as the spectators began to gather. That's when I noticed it . . . I was the only woman there. Even though I've been abroad now for almost 2 months, I still sometimes thinking like an American. It had not even occurred to me that there wouldn't be any other women, but there definitely were not. Once again I was ever so slightly out of place. I have developed quite a nack for it.
It was great though because there was that familiarity you always have with soccer games. Whether you're in the rural areas of Equador or Thailand, the major fields of Italy or Brazil, or the club fields out at Benbrook, TX you'll be able to find people playing soccer. The pitch may be made of grass, dirt, turf, clay, or concrete. The goal may be real or just marked by trees, hats or shoes. But there is that continuity about it that makes it one of the greatest sports, if for no other reason than its universality.
Spectators cheer, chant, and cuss with passion whether it's a game of 10 year olds or the World Cup. The match between teams of neighboring cities or towns will always be a grudge match. No matter what country you're in, soccer is one of those international languages that crosses bounds.