Via Prague

I was in Old Town Square, along with hundreds of other people, last night for the Czechs Eurocup 2008 match against Turkey. The matches are being held in Austria and Switzerland, but in Old Town they had big TV screens and plenty of beer stands. It was a game the Czechs had to win to have any hopes of advancing to the next stage. The Czechs played well early, maintaining a 2-1 lead late into the game. My Czech friend Lenka, as we sipped pivo and cheered on the team, was not as optimistic as the rest of us. 'They'll lose,' she said. 'Just watch.' Not a minute later, the Turks scored, tying the match, following an uncharacteristic error by goalkeeper Petr Cech. That seemed to take the life out of the Czechs, for Turkey scored yet again to win 3-2. The atmosphere on the square, full of blaring horns, swaying beerglasses, people chanting 'Cesi! Cesi' was festive even after the disappointing loss. The Czechs in 2004 advanced much deeper into the tournament, but this year's team was older and missing several key players due to injuries.
I turned to Lenka when it finished. She was smiling.
'See,' she said, with a bit of the Czechs' characteristic pessimism. 'I told you they would lose.'
'Priste cas,' I said. 'Next time.'
'We just say 'priste,''
Later as we walked back through Old Town, the streets full of fans heading to the pubs, we talked about the match. One young man was shouting in Czech, 'Thank you guys!' in tribute to the Czech players.
'Thank you guys -- thank you for what?' Lenka asked rhetorically. 'Oh well, maybe it will be a good wake-up call for people.'