Unreal

Today I woke up early. I woke up with the sun shining in my face. I looked out the window and saw a blue sky. I smiled. I knew this day would be fantastic. Like a child on Christmas, when a long time's wait is over. So full of expectations.

I got dressed, did my hair and makeup, made sure to have something to eat. Ran around the house not knowing what to do or how to channel my energy. I was watching my phone every minute, hoping to see time pass by quickly. As soon as I could I jumped on the bus in to town to meet my best friend. I almost ran to her apartment as soon as I got off the bus. When she opened the door we didn't say anything. We just met each other's smiles, that would go around our heads if we didn't have ears to stop them. Beer was severed at the balcony, where we could sit in the sun (in just t-shirts) for the first time this spring. Soon, very soon, we would meet one of the most important days in our life.

We went downstairs, picked up the bikes and put the sunglasses on. Oh, how I've missed that ride through town to our second home. The arena of our beloved football team. For the first league game this season.

We went into the pub at the arena to meet some more friends before the game. We had a beer. We laughed. We talked. We sang. Keeping an eye on one of the other games in the league that was played right before ours.

This day had every potential to be perfect, but what happened next changed everything. It made our 3-0 victory seem unimportant in the end. It changed everything for every football supporter in Sweden that were celebrating the start of the season. I was planning to keep football away from this blog, but what happened today is impossible to just ignore.

The game we were watching before our's was suddenly cancelled after supporters from the away team entered the field. They had just found out that a man of theirs died from injuries after an attack from supporters for the other team, and wanted to stop the game.

I don't know the details. I guess no one really does at this time. But a man, father of four kids, was today so beaten up that he eventually died from the injuries. Why? Because he was wearing clothes in the "wrong" colours.

It's crazy when something like this happens in a world you're so involved in. I've visited places all over Sweden, and many places in Europe, doing just the same as he did. Wearing my team's colours with pride. I hate to say it, but I'll probably be more careful with that in the future. I don't understand how something like this can happen! How it can get this far... It makes me so sad that something that is so uniting and festive like football usually is, gets hit by a tragedy like this.

Today I send all my love and support to the man's family and friends. To all the supporters, players, leaders and everyone else involved with a team that today went across the country to celebrate the start of the season, and had to go all the way home with one man less.