BatiGol Weekly 70: Welcome to the working week

I went to visit my grandfather a couple of years ago in San Francisco. He was about 90 at the time, and didn’t then have (and hasn’t ever had) push-button phone—rotary dial only—or a TV, much less cable or an internet connection. I’d always liked visiting him since it meant I got to hang out in his apartment, which is still decorated about how it was when he moved in more than half a century ago. It’s this incredible mid-century time warp of American and Brazilian and European stuff, and it’s really really cool.

The downside, though, is that visiting Grampa means that you’re pretty much without any access to technology, which isn’t a big problem; it’s not like there’s a shortage of coffee shops with wifi in San Francisco. Whatever, right?

But when Fiorentina plays at 4 AM, it’s suddenly a much bigger problem, the solution to which is waking up at 3:00, putting your laptop in a backpack, and wandering around for 55 minutes until you find a 24-hour doughnut shop about half a mile from your grandfather’s apartment whose bemused owner agrees to give you his wireless password and watches with mild concern as you twitch and mutter for the next 90 minutes, utterly fixated on your screen.

I guess what I’m saying is that, in this week that’s usually a pretty good one for taking stock of one’s life and advantages, is that I’m really glad I can usually watch Fiorentina play on my computer in the comfort of my own house, even if it does mean waking up earlier than I’d like sometimes.

So I want to thank you, dear readers, for all the late nights or early mornings you suffer through to watch the Viola every week. For wearing a faded purple Jovetic jersey every time the Viola play. For suffering the indignity of having to explain, "No, actually, Fiorentina are an Italian soccer team that’s actually been pretty successful, historically. No, they don’t play Manchester United. Or Barcelona. No, they’re in Italy." This one’s for yall. Thanks for everything, guys. Yall are just about my favorite people out there.

How I feel about yall.

Latest news

As we approach January, the rumor has really started bugging out. Catch up with the last week’s nuttiness and prepare your body and soul for more of the same this week.

The international break is over and Fiorentina beat the friggin doors off of Empoli. Enjoy all of our coverage just one more time.

Comment of the week

Not that Johnny Bee is peddling schadenfreude or anything, but...

That’s it for this week, folks. Feel free to share your own odysseys of trying to watch Fiorentina in weird places and at weird times in the comments.