I stayed up past 4am last night watching the US-England soccer match. There weren't many Americans in attendance; the crowd was definitely pro-England. Actually, I haven't met many Americans on my travels--a weirdly small amount given the ratio of the American population to other countries. I've met far more Canadians and Irish than Americans, for example.
As I was talking to a friend from the dive shop (he's Austrian-Serbian, but was favoring England in the match), the guy in front of me turned around and said, "Is that an American accent I'm hearing?" When I answered affirmatively, he gave a loud "Right on!" and clenched my hand firmly. He and his friends were Irish; they were rooting for America more out of their dislike of England than any affinity for America.
We chatted awhile and they poured me a shot of Jameson they had acquired at the duty-free. Partway through the night, I was reminded of a scene from Fight Club where the protagonist meets a man on a plane and brings up his idea of "single-serving friends," people you interact with amiably for a short period of time and then never see again.
This happens a lot when traveling. I haven't really gotten used to it; but it is something some travelers are good at and thoroughly enjoy.
The game ended in the early hours of the morning with the score tied. The crowd was weirdly silent and dispersed quickly. (An article I read about the game interviewed an English bartender who said that when England wins, people keep drinking. When they lose, people keep drinking. When they tie, people just go home.) I went back to my room to catch some sleep for the next day, which would offer up more soccer and possibly the next serving of transitory friendship.
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