Dutch treat

Tonight there's a big football (soccer) match between FC Basel and Feyenoord here in Basel. There were evidently stories in the local papers this week about the concern that Dutch hooligans (I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but I guess the Brits don't have a monopoly on rude fan behaviour) could be coming to town for the match. I took a walk downtown at lunch today and the streets were packed with drunk, loud Feyenoord fans--it wasn't quite threatening, but it was starting to get borderline menacing. (Incidentally, the only way you could tell they were Dutch was because of their team colors--otherwise, Dutch sounds remarkably similar to Swiss German to the untrained ear.)

Anyway, just a few minutes ago I heard a roar outside my window. I looked down and there were probably about 100 people chanting and walking through the middle of traffic in the general direction of the stadium. As they headed away, all of a sudden a huge line of Polizei in full riot gear came marching behind them while police cars blocked traffic in both directions and other police walked down the street parallel to the crowd. For a couple of minutes I thought I was going to get to relive my glory days in L.A. during the riots. Anyway, they eventually all ended up out of sight so we're not sure how it ended (if it ended), but traffic is at a standstill and there's a steady stream of sirens going by. I had been thinking it might be fun to try to attend the match, but now I'm thinking maybe it's for the best to watch it at home (if our TV worked, that is). Good times to be had tonight in Basel!