Hello.  I'm a new forum member here from Chicago, Illinois, USA.  I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself.  I'm glad there is an English language forum for those of us Lazio fasns/supporters who do not yet speak Italian.  My father is Italian (from Torino), but I was born and raised in the United States.  I recently obtained Italian citizenship, and plan on learning the language as soon as possible.  My father did not speak much English when he emigrated to the states, but he persevered, and now speaks it better than many natives.  I feel I can do the same with Italian.  It will be difficult, and will take some time, but I eventually will become fully bilingual (I hope!!).  Again, greetings to all!!  It's great to be here.

Thank you very much for the welcome.  I suppose it has to do with politics.  I myself am very conservative, and don't like typical left wing clubs (such as Roma and Atalanta to name a few) that push (among other things) communism, etc.  My grandfather lived for many years (until he passed away just over 10 years ago) on the top floor of a fairly large apartment building less than 1 km from the stadium where Juventus and (I believe) Torino play their home matches.  No one in my family (father, grandfather, or my uncles) seemed very interested in football or sports in general.  From what my father tells me, the family didn't have the money to attend football matches (apparently ticket prices were too expensive for the small family budget), and my father was also very busy studying for university scholarships.  In addition to the political angle, I admire the Irriducibili for their fearlessness (especially when confronting those annoying Roma supporters).  It is too bad they are currently on strike, however the i.d. card issue has struck a nerve with football supporters all across Europe, has it not?  Hopefully, they will return to the Curva Nord before this season ends.  We shall see...in the meantime, we just need to hold our own and maintain our place in the standings.  I was disappointed to see AC have the ball for the majority of the recent match, but pleased that (thanks to a VERY strong defense) we were able to play them to a scoreless draw.  My apologies if this reply is quite long, I just wanted to explain a few things, that's all.

Benvenuto e Forza (conservative) Laziale 

greetings fellow American, always glad to add another to the ranks

Yes, of course.  That's what I meant.  I used the wrong word.  People often mix the two, and they are occasionally used interchangeably (when they shouldn't be).  At any rate, I'm proud to be a supporter, and look forward to what is hopefully a successful and interesting second half of the season.  ONLY 3 WEEKS UNTIL THE ROMA MATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   

Welcome to the forum!

FORZA LAZIO!