The streets of Southern Italy went eerily silent Sunday night when Spain's fourth penalty kick knocked the Azzurri out of the UEFA Euro 2008 soccer tournament. After a few solemn moments, hundreds of fireworks, presumably those purchased for a victory celebration, erupted in the sky like a blow from nearby Vesuvius. Even in defeat, the Italian spirit seemed as fiery as ever.

But now that Jaunted's favorites are out and Spain is embarking on a 24-years- in-the-making semifinal, we're setting our gaze on tomorrow, when the Germans meet the Turks.

The showdown happens St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland. If you're keen to watch closer to home, our friends at Gothamist put together a solid list of big screens in NYC as did the guys at NewYorkSoccerBars.com whose site we love in spite of the name. We know you're jocks but a little creativity never hurt!

--Courtney Scott

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· High Culture, Low Culture Travel: Sing and Sock 'Em [Jaunted]
· Sports Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo taken after Turkey's last win in Vienna: Sepperer Markus]]]> Jaunted 2008-06-24T14:45:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/17/143653/371

They may be rowdy, drunk and disruptive, but football fans are generally welcomed with open arms for the sheer economic force they bring to host cities. But not everyone in Vienna is stoked about the UEFA Football Championship and its assorted mayhem: The Vienna State Opera has canceled a concert scheduled the night of the final, and attendance is down by nearly a third overall since the footballers came to town.

Given how much singing goes on at European football matches--albeit in profane ways too complex to explore here--one would think a love of opera and the Euro Cup need not be mutually exclusive. The European championship continues through June 29, and tickets can still be had through the national organizations in competition. (That includes for matches involving teams from Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain at this writing.)

If you'd rather go highbrow, you can buy tickets by phone to the Vienna State Opera's performances or try for €30 ($46) rush tickets to shows like Verdi's "La Forza Del Destino" and Tchaikovsky's "The Queen of Spades."

Related Stories:
· Soccer 1, Opera 0 [Canadian Press, via Google]
· Culture Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Sports Travel coverage [Jaunted]

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