Geç oldu ama...

Every ultra is different. There are those who only active with a group and those who make up a group for themselves. Ultras are all different but they are all united by their love for their own team, their determination to endure for over 90 minutes on their feet despite the rain and the cold, they are united by the warming effect of a chant sung out at the top of their voices. They are united by the security of the friend who sleeps at their side on the train taking you home from an away game, by the swaggering walk through a rival city, by the joy of setting off on an away trip and the tiredness of the return home. They are united by that shared sandwich after hours of hunger, by that cigarette offered on the train and repaid in the stand, by that argument about the left winger on the bench shared in the gloom of a night train. They are united by a mentality. The things which unite us simultaneously divide us from the outside world, they separate us from worried parents, scandalised uncles, frightened classmates or disgusted teachers. Ultras are the exception to the rules, the unexpected which surprises you, the surprise which wipes the smile from your face when you thought you'd got away with it. Ultras are also the arm which pulls you up onto the truck before they shut the doors. Ultras are all this and more, many more emotions which can't be put into words.

Ciao Gabriele
A boy from the Sud
(Bir AS Roma taraftarının Gabriele yazdığı mektuptan...)