When we arrived in 06, Catania's soccer (calcio) team had just made it back up to Serie A, which is the equivalent of a minor league team being accepted into the majors. Serie A works on a system of relegation where the bottom three teams drop down to Serie B while the top of Serie B go up. For many teams, they go up and down over and over. It had been a long time since Catania had made it up and everyone in town was very excited. It is easy to have team spirit when the city only has two major professional teams (one being American football, which doesn't exactly draw the crowds). In fact everyone was so excited that when Palermo came to Catania there were riots and a policeman was killed. After that, the season continued, but no fans were allowed at the games. Ouch! Way to trip over yourselves!
Their first year, Catania did OK. They finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. But the 07-08 season: not so good. After some injuries, a coaching change, and some poor play, the end of the season was looking a bit scary. Would they be relegated down? The last game was against powerhouse Roma, in second place overall, hoping a win combined with some cooperation from Inter Milan would boost them into 1st. So Catania was playing at home to stay alive and Roma was playing to win. If Catania lost and Empoli won, they would be tied and their head-to-head record would send Catania down. After a very suspenseful game with an early Roma goal, Catania evened things up in the 85th minute to end in a tie. Catania essentially secured last place among the teams staying in Serie A. People were driving all over town on scooters waving Catania flags and scarves, honking their horns, going crazy. I didn't see that much excitement in the Bay Area when Oakland won the World Series! People were going crazy because they took last!!! OIS!
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