Climate...
When most people think of Norway their first thought is probably something like "Brrr...sounds cold!"...and while in some parts of Norway that assumption holds very true, here in Oslo the temperatures and weather conditions are fairly similar to those of Minneapolis. Despite Oslo's high latitude of close to N 60 degrees (for those of you who were wondering, the Arctic circle is at roughly N 66 degrees while Minneapolis is at N 45 degrees) the climate here is fairly temperate due to the warmer ocean currents that blow up from the equator. The thing that is different between Minneapolis and Oslo though, is that the seasons change at different times (I cant speak for all seasons I suppose, just the current transition I am experiencing of Summer to Fall). For example, when I arrived in Oslo back at the beginning of August, it was fairly cool almost fall-like temperatures...so much so that I probably could have worn pants from then till now (howewver, me being the tough Midwestern kid that I am I have been able to tough it out in shorts until just recently). And now in mid-September, the leaf changing process is already in full swing whereas back home I am guessing that the temperatures are just recently starting to cool down and the leaves wont really start changing for a few weeks. So essentially Fall is well underway here in Oslo, whereas back home its just starting...
Football...
Back home the college and pro seasons of football are underway...and it is the same in Norway and Europe, but with a different kind of football...American Football (also called Gridiron by my Australian friends) is a relatively unknown sport around this part of the world. Yes they have NFL Europe...but who really pays attention to that? For the most part, Europeans think of American Football as a relatively stupid, slow paced, padded (and thus wussy) version of rugby (for the record, I went to a rugby match of a buddy of mine...it is crazy. I have respect for American Football players, but rugby...whew...anyways...). What really gets them going over here is football (or soccer). The English Premier League (for those of you who dont know, the EPL is one of the best, most respected, and most popular soccer leagues in the world) is obviously very popular in Great Britain (my Irish friend Steve is what I would called a mild mannered fanatic), but even here in Norway it seems as though everyone is paying attention. Norway played Iceland in a World Cup qualifier a few weeks ago and it dominated the papers and news coverage for a week on both ends of the game. Simply put, Europeans love football as much as Americans love football...its just that each continents football is a slightly different shape.
Climate and Football...
I think the reason for bringing up these two differences/similarties, is that I was alerted to them in a strangely culminating fashion this past weekend. On Saturday afternoon my pals and I headed downtown to a local pub to catch the Liverpool vs Manchester United EPL football game. It was a big game between major rivals (think Vikings vs Packers on Monday Night)...and was a lot of fun to watch, especially in a pub full of fans. Amidst it all I realized why it felt so normal...a typical fall Saturday afternoon for me, is spent watching football. It just so happens that this fall, and this football season, are happening European style...and I must say, it is different...but not that different...
When most people think of Norway their first thought is probably something like "Brrr...sounds cold!"...and while in some parts of Norway that assumption holds very true, here in Oslo the temperatures and weather conditions are fairly similar to those of Minneapolis. Despite Oslo's high latitude of close to N 60 degrees (for those of you who were wondering, the Arctic circle is at roughly N 66 degrees while Minneapolis is at N 45 degrees) the climate here is fairly temperate due to the warmer ocean currents that blow up from the equator. The thing that is different between Minneapolis and Oslo though, is that the seasons change at different times (I cant speak for all seasons I suppose, just the current transition I am experiencing of Summer to Fall). For example, when I arrived in Oslo back at the beginning of August, it was fairly cool almost fall-like temperatures...so much so that I probably could have worn pants from then till now (howewver, me being the tough Midwestern kid that I am I have been able to tough it out in shorts until just recently). And now in mid-September, the leaf changing process is already in full swing whereas back home I am guessing that the temperatures are just recently starting to cool down and the leaves wont really start changing for a few weeks. So essentially Fall is well underway here in Oslo, whereas back home its just starting...
Football...
Back home the college and pro seasons of football are underway...and it is the same in Norway and Europe, but with a different kind of football...American Football (also called Gridiron by my Australian friends) is a relatively unknown sport around this part of the world. Yes they have NFL Europe...but who really pays attention to that? For the most part, Europeans think of American Football as a relatively stupid, slow paced, padded (and thus wussy) version of rugby (for the record, I went to a rugby match of a buddy of mine...it is crazy. I have respect for American Football players, but rugby...whew...anyways...). What really gets them going over here is football (or soccer). The English Premier League (for those of you who dont know, the EPL is one of the best, most respected, and most popular soccer leagues in the world) is obviously very popular in Great Britain (my Irish friend Steve is what I would called a mild mannered fanatic), but even here in Norway it seems as though everyone is paying attention. Norway played Iceland in a World Cup qualifier a few weeks ago and it dominated the papers and news coverage for a week on both ends of the game. Simply put, Europeans love football as much as Americans love football...its just that each continents football is a slightly different shape.
Climate and Football...
I think the reason for bringing up these two differences/similarties, is that I was alerted to them in a strangely culminating fashion this past weekend. On Saturday afternoon my pals and I headed downtown to a local pub to catch the Liverpool vs Manchester United EPL football game. It was a big game between major rivals (think Vikings vs Packers on Monday Night)...and was a lot of fun to watch, especially in a pub full of fans. Amidst it all I realized why it felt so normal...a typical fall Saturday afternoon for me, is spent watching football. It just so happens that this fall, and this football season, are happening European style...and I must say, it is different...but not that different...
1 comment:
Okay so I just sent you an email about football and here I am reading you writting about football.
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