I've been in the Amsterdam airport when crowds on their way to World Cup matches were clearing through. The various national team supporters were dressed in their teams colors, waving flags, and aggressive. Really noisy, and couldn't resist telling strangers how good their team was. At least, that's what it sounded like. Didn't speak English to me, didn't care what I said to them.

And the matches were a couple of days away.

They have to keep the groups separated. I'm certain supporters from two different countries don't go on the same plane, but I didn't see that part. Would be nuts if they did.

After that I could understand the riots they have at the matches.

I've been downtown in a large city in South America when a national soccer match was on a large screen TV in a store window. The crowd completely blocked a major intersection. The cops who were supposed to be supervising traffic were toward the front.

At the end of a period the crowd sort of dissolved, traffic drove through, and then reassembled when it started again.

Everyone seemed to understand.

I've never seen anything like it in the US. Not at big basketball or football games, not with drunk college kids, nowhere. I don't know if the winners home towns tear up things, though. That may be an American excuse for a riot.

Arf