After having to buy tickets on the secondary ticket market to Olympiacos I was a little nervous about attending the Panathinaikos match at Olympic Stadium Saturday night. On Friday night, I talked to the hotel receptionist about both Panathinaikos matches I wanted to attend. He stated the basketball match Sunday night would probably be sold out and that the soccer match Saturday night would not. He was right, attending the Panathinaikos was a completely different experience from the Olympiacos match Nicole and I attended last Sunday night. Of course, what I had failed to realize earlier in the week was that Olympiacos and PAOK were #1 and #2 in the Greek Super League, respectively. Tonight’s match was between a top team, Panathinaikos, and a bottom team, Thrasivoulos.

Nicole and I ate dinner in Psiri Saturday night – a concentrated area of restaurants in Psiri (to read Matt Barrett’s description of Psiri click here). Since Nicole had a scholarship application due by the end of November, we agreed that I should attend the soccer match while she worked on her scholarship application at the hotel.

I left the hotel around 5:30 pm for the 7:00 pm kick off and arrived at the 2004 Olympic Village just before 6 pm. I noticed ticket booths (white trailers) just outside the metro station. I walked up to one of the booths and bought a ticket to the match – 10 euros (ticket prices ranged from 10 euros to 40 euros and much easier than negotiating in Greek).

After I bought my ticket, I walked to Olympic Stadium. I was hoping for a similar atmosphere to the Olympiacos match Nicole and I had attended the prior Sunday. That night, after we bought “scalped” tickets we were able to relax outside the stadium with drinks and food. However, to my disappointment, there was no atmosphere to be found. I had a 5-10 minute walk from the ticket office to Olympic Stadium. On route there were a few sausage vendors (similar to those found outside of Staples Center, the Home Depot Center or the Rose Bowl). I walked half way around the stadium and realized there was no pre-game activity.

By the time I was in Olympic Stadium and seated, it was 6:45 pm. I bought myself a Coca-Cola Light (Diet Coke for those not familiar with European lingo) and flipped through the free (in Greek) program I received. I looked around the stadium and realized the match was nowhere near selling out. One side of the upper deck was completely empty and even the “supporters” section was half full. I figured this was the case since the opponent, Thrasivoulos, was in second to last place in the division.

The Game
Panathinaikos won the match 3-0. They scored a goal in the first half and two more early in the second half. I left the match disappointed in the Panathinaikos fan base, but realized they were probably not geared up for the poor opposition – in fact, I only saw one flame during the entire match – something I have become accustomed to at European soccer matches.