{"id":88250,"date":"2018-06-26T17:14:33","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T15:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=88250"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:01","slug":"well-watch-a-world-cup-game-and-well-have-the-best-evening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/06\/26\/well-watch-a-world-cup-game-and-well-have-the-best-evening\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We\u2019ll watch a World Cup game and we\u2019ll have the best evening\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By now the FIFA World Cup has been underway for a week and a half. Although Dutch students aren\u2019t all that interested in the event, the football fans among EUR\u2019s international students are going out of their way to find the time to watch as many games as possible, even though the World Cup tournament is being held during their exam period.<\/p>\n

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Ben Dahmen, Dario Gregori and their flatmates enthusiastically watch football <\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMartina Kvaskova<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Erasmus Sport has placed a large screen for the duration of the World Cup, as a special service to those student athletes who love football. 21-year-old Juan Carlos from Spain, seated on his own, has his eyes glued to the screen during one game. \u201cIt\u2019s easy enough to find a seat during the 2pm matches,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it gets quite crowded here during the 5pm and 8pm matches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bulgarian students Stefan Aleksandrov and Kristian Sofiyanski are loving the big screen. \u201cIt\u2019s very handy that I can watch football before or after working out,\u201d says Sofiyanski. Both have watched nearly all the World Cup games so far, and they each have their favourite team. While Sofiyanski supports Portugal, Aleksandrov secretly likes the idea of a small country winning the World Cup. \u201cWhich is why I support Iceland or Serbia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enthusiasm<\/h2>

Many international student houses are suffering from football mania, as well. Take, for instance, German student Ben Dahmen, who, together with his flatmates, has turned his living room into a shrine to football. The ceiling has been adorned with flags representing several different countries. Colourful bunting has been hung up beneath the flags. The residents have installed a projector that allows them to view the World Cup matches on a large screen.<\/p>\n

Dahmen shares a student house in Kralingen with six other students. \u201cWe are from different countries, including Germany, Brazil, Slovakia and Italy, but we all love football. So we thought it would be a brilliant idea to hang up our national flags during the World Cup,\u201d the economics student tells us.<\/p>\n

He adds, \u201cEven though some flatmates do not have a team representing their country at the World Cup, we all watch the games with equal enthusiasm.\u201d This means that Dahmen and his flatmates watch football in their living room nearly every night. \u201cSince we have a large screen, our fellow students regularly come and join us. So we\u2019ll watch a World Cup game, with crisps and beer ready to hand, and we\u2019ll have the best evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

His flatmate Dario Gregori, who is half German and half Brazilian, admits that the timing of the World Cup is inconvenient. \u201cMy studies are suffering,\u201d he says. At the moment, he devotes much less time to his studies than usual, but so far he has not regretted it. \u201cI do revise in between matches. But I am looking forward to my summer holiday, when I will be able to watch the World Cup without any impediments.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The living room of Ben Dahmen & Dario Gregori<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMartina Kvaskova<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Patriotism<\/h2>

Dahmen thinks it would be more fun if the Netherlands had qualified to the World Cup, as well. \u201cThen we\u2019d really have been able to feel excitement here in the Netherlands,\u201d he guesses. \u201cBecause if I\u2019m honest, I feel pretty patriotic, too, when a World Cup is being held.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregori confirms this. \u201cSometimes I think that the World Cup causes me to experience an identity crisis,\u201d the second-year IBA student says laughing, referring to his dual nationality. \u201cBut if I absolutely had to make a choice, I\u2019d support Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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