MONTREAL: There were no empty seats inside the expansive pasta and pizzeria restaurant Pomodoro last Tuesday for the Euro Cup semi-finals. Clad in blue Italy soccer jerseys and wrapped in Italian flags restaurant patrons made no sound during the Italian National Anthem. This was followed by an avalanche of applause and heartfelt cries of “Forza Azzuri!", while eyes were glued to their favorite men in blue dominating the green field. This isn't Italy. It is the center of Montreal's Little Italy. “It's funny, we all become Italian during the Euro and the World Cup. It doesn't matter if you're first, second or third generation," Agata De Santis, a first generation Italian immigrant living in Montreal, told Bikyamasr.com. Montreal has been taken by Euro Cup fever. Many cars are sporting flags of their driver's homeland and restaurants and bars in the immigrant heavy neighborhoods are overbooked on game day. Passes, goals and star players have been dominating conversations among immigrant groups no matter the distance between Montreal and their heritage. Montreal is a city of immigrants, where cultures are allowed and able to flourish and remain intact instead of mixing together to become one simple Canadian culture. According to the 2001 Census, 70 percent of individuals born abroad who currently reside in Québec live in the Montreal region. These immigrants account for 28 percent of the Montreal region's total population. The largest ethnic group represented is European immigrants, who make up 37 percent of the immigrant population in Montreal. Over one fourth of Montreal's population was made up of immigrants in 2001 however, this does not account all of the first, second and third generations of immigrants that have held on to the heritage of their parents and grand-parents. A big part of keeping this heritage alive is watching, celebrating and supporting your team in the Euro and World cup. This tradition is especially prominent among Italian immigrants. “I'm so proud to be Italian, the Euro brings us all together in Little Italy and celebrating together is a beautiful feeling," Giuliana Minardi, 33, first generation Italian immigrant said. However, soccer on it's own is not what brings them together. The Italian team is made up of players from many different regional teams in Italy. When those games are on, most of the Euro Cup enthusiasts from the later generations are not watching. “I don't have time to watch sports all the time. When it's a tournament like the Euro I watch for my heritage," Alessandra Aloise, 21, first generation immigrant said. Support for the Italian team during the tournaments spreads to all ages and all walks of life. “My grand-father, my mother, my little sister and my friends watch this. It's one of those rare things, where most of the people you know in your family and city are watching the same thing," Aloise said. “We celebrate because we think Italy has the best team," Lydia Brescia. Brescia was right in this case. When the final whistle blew and Italy beat Germany 2-1, the crowd in Pomodoro and those standing on the street erupted in a cheer of “Italia, Italia, Italia!" The crowd fled to the street, which was a sea of Azzuri blue and green, white and red flags. The smallest children were lifted onto the shoulders of their fathers' and grand-fathers' waving their flags, while the older part of the first generation got in their cars honking and cheering out of the sunroofs. For the rest of the evening an unspoken rule was enforced, when two cars sporting Italian flags were close, they must honk to each other to show their mutual excitement and solidarity. “Italians take it to another level," Minardi said.
