PAOK-Iraklís 5-1 (goodbye, home)

In a few hours I'm taking a night bus to Istanbul. I won't be back to Thessaloniki before late July. I had planned to write today a proper piece on this game I watched two days ago, but, it's early afternoon, I have already spent HOURS trying to take stuff out of my backpack, and I still need to work on it. Every time I leave home for a new trip, I promise myself to learn (le-what?) from previous mistakes, and, FINALLY, travel light. If I really-really mean to keep this promise today, first time ever, I need to take more things out, more, more, more... So, I'm keeping this super short...

This stadium (Toumba) is my second home, in the sense that I practically grew up in it. My parents' place is just a few blocks away. The first time my father took me there I still hadn't gone to kindergarten(!). During my entire childhood, we would NOT miss a home game of PAOK. My two schools from 12 to 18 were/are right next to it. And then, I started working as a sportswriter, and Toumba Stadium became my... office, since I soon became a PAOK reporter.

In this stadium I have felt absolutely everything from indescribable happiness to devastating sadness, to the point of tears. I have lost my voice from screaming, and have caused myself a bunch of bruises by hitting my hands on all sorts of hard surfaces out of nerves. I have hugged complete strangers while celebrating goals, and patted other complete strangers on their back as an “it's ok” consolation after heavy losses.

For all those reasons, and for many more, I love this place, and I intend to keep going back again, and again, and again, even when I'm old and I need a stick to help me walk (and miss half the on-field action because of back to back urgent visits to the toilet. Brrr...).

So, goodbye, and see you in July, home.