If they could only play on skis...

Austria might have a chance of winning their game today against Croatia. The tournament started in Basel and Geneva yesterday with one sloppy game and one exciting one. Today, Austria hosts its first two games. This is a message I recently received from the U.S. consulate in Vienna:

SUBJECT: Security for the Euro Cup

This Warden Message is being issued to alert U.S. Citizens traveling to and residing in Austria that Austria is hosting the Euro Cup (or European soccer championship) for 2008. The tournament will last from June 7 to June 29, and the matches in Austria will be held in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, and Klagenfurt. The championship game will occur in Vienna on the last day of the tournament.

The Government of Austria devised a thorough security plan in preparation for the Cup. American citizens should be aware that public disruptions may occur.

We wish to remind American citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. American citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations.

The U.S. Embassy expects that the amount of petty thefts (i.e., pickpockets, street scams, etc.) will rise, as will other forms of criminal activity such as credit card fraud and the availability of illegal drugs.

Thanks for giving us the heads up, USG. It's no wonder Americans don't like soccer - our government refers to matches as 'demonstrations' and tells us to stay away from them for safety's sake.

The games today should be pretty soggy as it has been raining here almost constantly for the past week. My picks for today - Croatia 3 - Austria 1 ; Germany 1 - Poland 1. I'll try to get some nice pictures of Eurohooligans for you once the weather turns.