If I take away the time when I was a little kid, I don't think I ever really was a sports patriotist. The one who, once in four years, suddenly goes crazy for someone who throws a stick a couple of metres further than the others. Not that I wouldn't support the Czechs in any way, it's just that in some cases I can't seem to think of any reason why should I bother for something I never bothered for before only because my country is involved, if you get me. I never cared for javelin, I never really cared for the Olympics and I never understood why it would have been such a big thing for the Czech Republic to have an Olympic winner in javelin. Or speed skating. Or cycle-ball. I mean, it's a bit like the scene from the Ali G Show:
Borat: "Which country is the number one in the world?"Woman: "I think, right now the US."Borat: "Don't you think maybe Kazakhstan is the number one?"Woman: "No."Borat: "But we have a man with the biggest amount of fingers. He has eight fingers. Do you have it?"Woman: "Does he have the right to vote? The freedom to speak?"Borat: "Weeell.. Not so much. But we have the biggest goat in the world. Oh no. Hungary has number one. But US has number five. Are we number one country now?"
And, as the hockey World Cup kicked off on Friday, everyone is becoming a fan all of a sudden. To be fair, I understand that as it's partly an annual tradition and also a bit més que un world cup for all sorts of reasons, mostly political ones from the past. Yet if everyone seems to be enjoying hockey and enjoying what it means to be a fan so much, why can't they just pick a team they would support throughout the year?
I can't say I won't go to the pub with my mates to have a few beers and be glad for the Czechs if they win a game of hockey - but I don't really care. I haven't watched more than 5 games a season since I was ten and, in the end, I'd swap the entire O2 Arena for a bloody Carling Cup in a second if I could.
Which brings us to the Czech FA Cup quarterfinals. The cup itself is more or less a bit of an appendix in the Czech football. No Gambrinus liga team takes it seriously enough until the point they realize they don't have to fear relegation and/or the cup is the only chance of getting to Europe. The sad truth is that although there's a slight amount of tradition in the cup, the attendances at the 1st division grounds and the media coverage are nowhere near Western Europe.
That is not to say, however, that there is no proverbial magic of the cup. Sure, there's absence of the going-to-Wembley, as going-to-Strahov-to-play-in-front-of-three-thousand is not particularly a challenging feat. The lack of epic battles (like the Liverpool-Everton replays in 1991 or others) is evident - I, at least, don't recall one. But the magic of a small team eliminating a giant remains. It's mostly there only for the locals as no-one except the experts remembers the great run of Baník Ratíškovice, for example, the then 2nd division club from a small village of 4,000 near Hodonín who were runners-up in 2000 after defeating Drnovice, Blšany, Plzeň, back then all Gambrinus liga teams.
My local side, Hanácká Slavia Kroměříž, have also enjoyed tremendous success in the cup this season. The team, now lying on the 5th place of the MSFL (Moravian part of the 3rd division) haven't been impressive in the Pohár in past years, having been knocked out already in the first rounds most of the times, but this season they got off to an unprecedented run - and certainly their best in the history. It has to be said that HS were blessed with significant amount of luck for opponents - compared with Ratíškovice they had Nový Jičín, Otrokovice and Vrchovina (all lower than 3rd division) and Slavičín (the bottom team of the 3rd division) before they played Zbrojovka, who are in deep relegation troubles. The cup games are never easy against any opposition but you have to say that the draw was very favourable to Hanácká.
Slavia amazingly won the first game 2-1 away at Srbská so all what was needed for the return leg in Kroměříž was a draw and even a 1-0 defeat would be enough for them to get in the semifinal. The turnout at the stadium was great - I've never seen so many people at the gate - and the official number says there were 2500 people in a stadium for 1528. Both is a bit of a surprise as the stands didn't even look that packed and that is even before you imagine that according to the officials, who ran out of tickets after 2500, there were even 500 more. The stadium of Hanácká is very fan-friendly and comfortable and the facilities in general are on a great level compared to other 3rd division clubs. I'm told that the club recognizes its position very well and will be looking to get promoted back in the 2nd division in years to come.
Zbrojovka certainly had a dilemma of what team to field in the second leg - they couldn't afford to play a whole different XI as it would effectively be their B-team which lies on the 11th place in the MSFL - but they still couldn't really afford to play their strongest line-up either as it would have tired them right before the relegation scrap in Hradec. The outcome was a mixed line-up of the core of their team along with some fresh young pair of legs; the rest of their regular starters was left on the bench to come on when needed.
And they were needed. In the opening minutes, though, it looked like that wouldn't have to be the case, based on the drive Zbrojovka had. The team worked hard, created a few chances, there were a couple of decent crosses in the box from the corners and they even hit the woodwork. But this was more or less everything Brno produced in the whole game, apart from a dangerous header in the first half which Vogl saved brilliantly. After that the game was very much a battle in the midfield with not too many chances created, and it was hard to see more than five consecutive passes throughout the game.
Slavia held on very well, pressed hard in the packed midfield and held the ball impressively - I though Janča especially had a fantastic game upfront, linking up well and calmly distributing the ball - and Brno had it very hard to pass accurately. They brought on Dostálek in the 61th minute but neither he was any successful. Down the flanks Zbrojovka were innocuous, the quality of their delivery in the box was dire and as the time went on, Slavia had more and more chances to seal the game with a counter-attack. Which they did in the 85th minute and it was game over - 1-0 for Hanácká Slavia, 3-1 on aggregate and Zbrojovka fans were left furious, and rightly enough.
Now, I know it might be pretentious to be buzzing with excitement for the reasons I explained above. I've only been to one game apart from the cup this season as many of the fixtures collided with Arsenal games or I couldn't go, or, let's face it, I just wasn't really up for it. I used to go there quite a few times every season, especially with my grandpa when he was in the town, and I always check the scores whenever I can. But still, I can't describe myself as a disciplined fan.
But then, there you go. You live in a small town where's hardly a place you can go to and have fun - the same can't be said about Uherské Hradiště, though, a complete opposite of Kroměříž in this respect. Here the bands mostly suck, the club (yes, there's only one club) sucks, the pubs suck or they are turned into sports bars or gaming houses. The football's mediocre, at best. Yes, you have great parks, no-one's going to steal your wallet and the drugging culture is very low but ultimately, the things I miss here are the things that matter to me and most of the young people and until it gets sorted there will always be this provincial atmosphere.
There's so much talk about what could be done about this all, and I'd be delighted if things turned to better and even to have my share on it, if it's any possible. Right now though, you have to do with what you have and try to take the most of it. Hence my excitement about the Hanácká Slavia.
