Italian soccer from a distance

Spoiler alert. For those of you that have taped the Lazio-Sampdoria soccer game, don't read on because I end up telling you the score.
On Chris' suggestion, I read the famous Hunter S. Thompson article about his trip to the Kentucky Derby. The crux of the article was that to truly experience an event, you can't be a spectator - you have to become part of the event. It's the journalist's equivalent to "a watched pot never boils". As you may have figured out from my other posts, this is in stark contrast to my "safety first" attitude.
On Sunday afternoon, we attended our first ever professional soccer/football/calgio game. With soccer hooligans in mind, I purchased mid-priced tickets figuring if you were there to brawl, you'd go for the cheap seats. Hunter would have been disappointed in me.

After an easy bus ride to Stadio Olimpico, my safety-first decision was reinforced by the dozens of Carabinieri (Italian military) trucks and swat teams. We bought a home team scarf and settled into our comfortable center line seats. The first thing we spotted was an isolated group of fans across the stadium. Surrounded by security, this was the visiting team's section. They started singing an hour before the game started and didn't stop until we were on the bus on the way home. They even unrolled a 75 foot flag with the picture of some 50 year old guy. That is my new goal when I turn 50.
Behind the goal and about 100 meters from us was a packed section of crazy home team fans. Knowing where the "cheap seats" were, I rested easy. A little too easy. Our seats reminded me a lot of the Leafs games. A comfortable, respectable section but not a lot of fun. No banners, no flags, no singing, no shivs.

At the half, we decided to try to get closer to the action - the fans, not the game. We couldn't quite make it into the mayhem, but got within 25m and enjoyed people watching for the second half. The game included 2 red cards and I'm pretty sure there is now a "hit" out on the referee - so lots to cheer and jeer about.
While we didn't understand what they were yelling and singing, they didn't seem more emotional than a rabid hockey fan but they had a much more colourful way of showing it. Italians are very dramatic at minor things like missing the bus, so you can imagine the performances when they miss the net.
The game ended in an enjoyable 1-1 draw which mirrored our feelings about the experience. Enjoyable, but I couldn't help but wonder that had we gone for the win, we would have had a lot more fun - win or lose. That, my literary friends, is a metaphor.
We might try another game and lower the ticket price to become part of the event, rather than watching at a safe distance. Then again, the swat teams were there for a reason...