I Heart Holland

What's not to love about the home of tulips, windmills, Amsterdam, and possibly the most kick-ass national football team in the world today?

Maybe this just goes to demonstrate my atrocious lack of knowledge in the field of international football, but I simply never thought of the Netherlands as being anything particularly special. As a country, all they really seem to have going for them is the college student's fantasy that is Amsterdam. As a soccer team... well, to be honest, if I'd actually bothered to think about it, they are certainly not lacking in talent. Although I am proud to say that I definitely thought that anyone predicting them to finish last in their group was selling them a bit short. And after this week, I have to say Holland may be my new favorite country.

Browsing some more pre-tournament predictions, I can see at least that I was not alone in dismissing the Dutch. Despite having an amazing number of players on some of the best clubs in the world (especially for such a small country), almost no one seemed to be willing to stand up for the Netherlands. Romania was picked to be the surprise contender in the Group of Death far more often than Holland.

I'm sure many people lost a lot of money when the Oranje secured their place at the top of Group C this afternoon, and now there will be many more who will lose out should Holland fail to win the whole deal. After dominating the two World Cup finalists so convincingly, it would be impossible not to at least entertain the possibility. Yet while I'd certainly love to see a win for a team I actually like, I accept that Holland has a history of self-destruction and may not even make it beyond the quarterfinals.

No matter what happens, though, the Netherlands have earned a permanent place in the corner of my heart reserved for inspirational sports teams. I may like them now because they are winning (this fondness for victory has also imbued me with affection for Man U, an unfortunate situation I can't seem to extract myself from), but as a longtime Green Bay Packers fan I can attest that I have the fortitude to support my chosen teams through even the worst seasons.

So, with no further ado, though I speak not a word of Dutch and find my general knowledge of
the Netherlands to be miserably inadequate (a deficiency you may trust will soon be remedied), I hereby offer my endorsement of the Dutch National Football Team in their campaign for the European Championship of 2008.