"I am Inter."
Criz was clearly not amused by my request that he pose with an AC Milan flag.
It was Ozzfest 2006, White River Amphitheatre, autograph line.
The other members of Lacuna Coil enthusiastically had greeted me and my flag, posing for photos with it and the crazy American that had brought, of all things, a Milan flag to Ozzfest many, many time zones away from the San Siro ....
It was one of the most genuinely and enthusiastically geeky things I have ever done. (I have never been to a Star Trek convention, which would rule this comment out.) Well, we all have a little of the fanboy in us.
But first, let us flash back to June of 1990 in Bologna, Italy. I am shopping with my friend Massimo for a soccer jersey. I am thinking of getting a Juventus jersey. Massimo did not approve. Milan was an acceptable alternative to me, and coincidentally his team, so I purchased the red and black striped jersey. Given that it was my friend's team, I tended to support Milan more in European soccer after that. He also sent home an AC Milan flag.
I decided to bring my AC Milan flag to Ozzfest last summer in the hopes of going through the autograph line for Lacuna Coil. As they approached the tent I held the flag high. They saw it. Their reaction was clearly one of astonishment and laughter. They posed for the photos and those photos ended up on emptyspiral.net in the fans section.
There was one exception. The drummer of Lacuna Coil is not an AC Milan supporter. He is an Inter supporter. Inter and AC are two teams that share the San Siro in Milan and are supported by rival fans much the same way Giants and Jets fans feel in New York. Criz would not even look at the flag, merely waving his hand at it in disgust and advising me that I should burn it. "I am Inter," he stated.
Cristina posed enthusiastically.
Tomorrow night ... I get to see Lacuna Coil as a headliner at El Corazon ....
