Eat pizza...

So it goes like this: the streets full of Italians, glued to TV screens, sipping enormous beers. Tense silence. And then, around 10:30 pm, the Italian soccer team scores two goals in quick succession, beating Germany and advancing to the World Cup Final. That's great, but the amazing part is what happens afterwards.

People take off their clothes, wrap themselves in tricolored Italian flags, scream, throw beer from balconies and toss glass bottles into the streets. Honking motorcades speed by, streaming flags, speeding and swerving to avoid what can only be called a growing mob. People sing and chant. The Piazza Bra (city center) is crammed with people. A man in a Speedo sets fire to the German flag and throws it into the air. The mob cheers, they sing "Germans, eat pizza." People climb the grilles blocking off the ancient palaces (it is, after all, around 1 am by now) and scale the roof. Fans jump into the fountains, paint "Germany" on their asses and moon the crowd. Everywhere motorbikes and cars honk, speed, stop.

I have never seen lunacy like that in my life.