I had already noticed that the Catholic religion occupies an important place in Lithuania (about 79% of the population is catholic). Much more than in France for exemple. But speaking about the “religion of basketball”, no other country can compete. Basketball in Lithuania is somehow equivalent to tango in Argentina, cricket in England or cheese in France!
the heterogeneous supporters
So when we had had the opportunity to go to see a match in Kaunas, it was an occasion to discover why this sport is so important here. This game was between Kaunas (LT) and Barcelona (ES). My Catalan roomate, of course, really wanted to go and support her team. That is how she brang me there, and how I came to support happily the Kaunas team. With a Barcelona’s and a Kaunas’ flags on our cheeks, we are ready to go to listen the big wave of the Lithuanian supporters. We do not know any song that they are singing but fortunately, we reconize something like “LIE-TU-VA! LIE-TU-VA! ” and so we can reach the movement for one moment.
The game is starting and we can enjoy the mood and learn the rules that we don’t even know … We see the game at about 1 km far away from us because we bought the last seats, and the cheapest ones. The Barcelona’s team takes the advantage. Lithuanian whistle more and more, while my Catalan neighbor is shouting in Spanish to encourage her team (so bad that she was almost alone, I think the players did not hear her). Her applause also is not in the same time as all the stadium wich make laugh our Lithuanian neighbors supporting Kaunas.
At the end, Barcelona wins 78-85, and all Kaunas is crying except us, the heterogeneous supporters.
Video of the match:
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