It’s been raining all night here in Rome, but it’s still quite warm. I’m not sure if it’s just me or if others feel it too, but for me, it’s hot, and I’m really struggling to bear it.
Finally, my parents’ successions have come through, and I’m starting to close their accounts. I closed my mother’s today, and I’ll continue with my father’s on Thursday. Yes, they were joint accounts, so I couldn’t do them individually. Another set of headaches is almost over, and I need the money to fund my band Diemislade’s songs. I can’t rely on my fans; I’m not that essential yet to deserve funding. I also wouldn’t develop songs for money like many do for publicity. The thing is, if a topic doesn’t inspire me, I can’t produce anything. For example, I really love Mashle and Mob Psycho 100, but I can’t come up with a song because I feel the existing ones are already “just right,” so I don’t see the need.
Anyway, on Sunday, the Rome Derby between A.S. Roma and S.S. Lazio was played, and the “Wolves” won 1-0. It was a tough match with many gaps in their play. They were also very lucky to only concede chances to players who were either bad or in poor mental and physical condition. I hope they improve because if they keep giving away chances, sooner or later they’ll get beaten. I wish the “little wolves” would play more with their heads, despite their three wins in four games.
A.S. Roma is the only team I could ever support. It’s a team that has to work four times as hard as others to earn success, fame, and glory. Despite our results, we’re not often protected institutionally, either nationally or internationally. We don’t have the prestige to reach a final, to win a final, or to contend for the championship. To win three scudetti in 98 years of history, we’ve always had to have the best team in the league by a long shot. Some presidents even went into debt to enter the legend books, and those people, especially Franco Sensi, deserve only respect because they show how passionate they were about this “toy”—so much so that they’d ruin themselves for the common good of the Romanist people.
In 2001, we celebrated on the streets for a whole month. As soon as I left the house, there was a party for the Roma championship win. Every 200 meters, someone would offer you porchetta, a piece of pizza, or something to drink. The building facades had images of gladiators, and the verb “unpicked” (scucito) was written everywhere with an image of scissors cutting the scudetto off the Lazio jersey. Yes, the Lazio team had won the year before.
These images and feelings are lost to the past. We haven’t won the league since that distant 2001, and I don’t think we’ll break the fast this year. The squad is incomplete, and we don’t have a competitive, high-quality roster for three different competitions. I’m skeptical, but I’ll leave a 5% hope that we win something by the end of the season or at least get to May with a goal still in sight.
It’s also the only team I could support because it represents David facing Goliath, but without the happy ending. It’s the team destined to lose and to win only when they completely deserve it. It represents the weak fighting for their rights. That’s why when we see our team lose without having played with effort, we want to beat them up or kick them in the butt because they show they don’t understand where the hell they ended up playing. You don’t win anything? Okay, fine. You’re bad? We accept that. But give us your soul! Leandro Cufrè was a fan favorite, so was Kevin Strootman, Zago, De Rossi, and Nainggolan. You know what they all had in common? They were soldiers in the service of the Romanist cause! The grit they showed on the field was unmatched; that’s what we want to see.
A different story for the Tottis, the Montellas, the Batistutas, the Cafùs, Conti, and Falcao… they were champions! And a different story still for the Aldairs. With him, you appreciated his skill, but above all, his loyalty! Of course, it would be good for us to win a bit more, but it’s also better this way. Only those who are starving can truly appreciate the food they find on their plate.
Roma reminds me of an episode from my childhood. I was with my mother in a supermarket in the Farnesina neighborhood. My mother worked in an office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, but when I was born, she retired and started her journey toward mental decline. I had my eye on a model of a black Formula One car and a toy excavator. I wanted both, but my mother didn’t agree and asked me to choose. Do you know what I chose? The model car. Why? Because the excavator would easily find another buyer, but that Formula One car would end up in a dump. I still have it. It was an easier choice than expected. I followed my nature, just like when I chose Roma in ’92-’93 despite home losses to Pescara, Brescia, and Torino in the Coppa Italia final. My giallorosso faith will remain strong forever.
Forza A.S. Roma!!!