Inno: Soccer Team Song

Each team in Italy has an official song, an inno, and the fans listen to it.  It's not like a university fight song; it's more like a pop song, almost. They listen to it in their cars driving around.  It's interesting.

Here's Milan's song:  "Milan, Milan"


While I'm an Interista, I'm not a fan musically of their inno, "C'è Solo Inter."  It sounds like a Michael Bolton song or background music for a Sports Utility Vehicle TV commercial.  Where are the hands swaying with lighters?  But in all earnestness, the inspiration of the song is cool.  Peppino Prisco was the Vice President of Inter from 1963-2001.  He was asked once about having served under 5 different Presidents of Inter.  His response was, "Well, I always sought to serve only Inter."  He loved his team.

Here's Naple's inno, "Napoli."

Amami! (Love me!) What?

If you stream RTL 102.5, Italian radio, (their app is great, by the way; they have an all Italian music web radio channel plus others), you might have heard this rousing anthem sung by Emma, "Amami."  I first thought it was someone's name (something close to Amelie) and didn't pay much attention to it until I noticed some Italian gals singing the chorus with fervor. Then later, after seeing the title on 102.5's app while it was on-air, I thought, "Ah ha!" The light went on, as what happens in the second language acquisition process. "Ama" is the informal imperative of love, amare, and "mi" is the pronoun referring to me.

So the next question in my analytical mind on the tram to an English lesson, is this "love me" in the sense of a command? Like stand up, sit down, love me, jump, etc? Or is this the exasperation of a woman who is pouring herself out desperately to a man who's just not that into her? Or perhaps is it her seizing a timely opportunity with someone she's cared about for a while but has lacked the courage or the circumstance or right words to allow for her express herself, so one day she just blurts out, "Amami" as some kind of pent up release. (Reminiscent of the pent up release  in Sense & Sensibility near the end with Emma Thompson).

I also wondered if this would make a good song for teaching imperatives if i ever go back to the States and teach Italian.

I remember in 1996 when Evita came out on film starring Madonna. The soundtrack is incredible; I think I know every song by heart. It's one of those press and play albums. My reaction to one of the songs on the album, "You Must Love Me" was, "Huh, you're ordering this man to love you on your command? That's not how love works." It's a modal giving an obligation in one sense.  It was only after watching the film did I gain the understanding and better appreciate the context. Juan Peron's done all these nice things for Eva. She was a bastard daughter raised in poverty who was refused from attending her own father's funeral and shown many hardships. She then concludes about Peron, you've done all these nice things for me, and now, sick with cancer, you're still by my side, therefore you must love me.  

Eva's headstone under the false name.

A memorial marker placed in July 2005.

Incidentally, Eva's body was buried in Milan for a while. After the military coup removed Peron from power in 1955, they removed her body from display and kept it hidden in government offices. But somehow candles and flowers would turn up on it. So in 1957, they moved her body Cimitero Maggiore di Milano where she was buried under a false name, Maria Maggi de Magistris, and stayed for about 15 years.  Here's the  article from the BBC on Eva's post-mortem travels.

[And on another tangent, Eva died at the age of 33 from cervical cancer which is caused by an STD, HPV, which goes through condoms. She ought to be associated with the educational outreach for this disease.  80% of American women will have been infected by HPV by the age of 50. It's one of the slow growing cancers that can be caught with an annual pap smear. A distant relative of mine died from it later in life.  That's the challenge with this disease; it can't be caught if you don't get your annual pap smear. It doesn't matter if you've been married to the same guy for 10 years or are a widow in her 60s or 70s.  The end of my Public Health Service Announement.]

Language is fascinating and fluid in so many ways; context and nuance change everything. Imparami (learn me!) to its students, does it sing.

Update: September 12
Maybe the answer which I seek will be found after I translate the song and discover the context. :)  I think the song is love me is in the romantic sense of pour your love on me, lay all your love on me.  She talks about love me like the summer rain covers the earth, like a lighthouse sends light into the sea, etc.

Receding Waves in Cogoleto

The waves receding back into the sea in Cogoleto sound different compared to any other that I have heard before.  Like pachinko balls clinking together after winning a small pot.  Or several marbles colliding.  The sound made when you're when sipping out the last bit of soda.

The source of this sound:  the stones.  The beaches here are made of pebbles.  If you find any sand, it’s been imported. 

So when you visit Cogoleto, listen to the sound of the water rushing over the stones.  You're in for an auditory adventure.

Everything I need to know in life I learned from Soccer

Anticipating others' moves.

Playing defense requires you to anticipate the moves of the offensive player so you can effectively stop him.   And you can’t play the ball---you’ll be tricked.  Every time.  Nor can you follow the player’s feet.  You have to watch the player’s hips.  Being aware of the other offensive players helps, but the goal is to defend the forward away from the goal towards the sidelines.  It’s being aware of their body language and anticipating their moves.  This is what helped me be a better driver.  You need to anticipate other drivers, especially when merging onto the Kennedy Expressway.  Are they accelerating, is there another car in front of them, does it seem like they might want to pass or switch lanes to get around, are they trying to exit the highway?  Then once you become familiar with the traffic patterns, you can anticipate the most frequented exits and moves other drivers will make.

Creating space.

This is important during the game to allow movement of the ball.  You can’t be standing still during the game.  Nor next to your teammate.  You have to get open—get square so they can pass the ball to you.  You have to know your strengths and weaknesses as well as those of your teammates so that you can play synergistically.  And ultimately, by creating space and passing, the balance of the power in the game changes.  I find this to be true in life with any kind of relationship.  You have to create space around yourself, to know yourself, to be able to handle yourself and, in turn, give space to those people so they can know themselves.  But at the same time, you move together be open with the goal of working synergistically.  There is no movement without space.  When someone is in your space, it stops your own personal movement and the movement of the team. 

Dirty Dancing.

Remember the scene in Dirty Dancing where Patrick Swayze is teaching Jennifer Gray how to dance?  He corrects her, maintain your space.  "Look spaghetti arms.  This is my dance space.  This is your dance space.  I don't go into yours.  You don't go into mine.  You gotta hold the frame."  Creating space and maintaining it is important in this game and dance of life.  It’s counter-intuitive—you think you want somebody in your life, that you have to go to them.  Don’t get me wrong; there are times you will have to go to that person, but there needs to be a balance.  The ebb and flow of life.  And by creating space, you are allowing things to enter your life.  Whether it’s getting rid of the clutter and maintaining a simpler and structured living environment, or eliminating draining relationships—a negative friend or a man who doesn’t want what you want.  How can you possibly grow, develop new interests, or meet new people if there isn’t any space for it?