Reggina is alive. Beyond missed registrations, names waiting to be changed and procedures to be completed, what happened yesterday afternoon at the Strait of Arena says so Reggio Calabria. Many amaranth hearts met to celebrate the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the team’s foundation. A social phenomenon capable of uniting the city, dragging it through difficult times and a flag under which hundreds of thousands of fans around the world recognize themselves. The splendid event organized by Curva Sud was originally scheduled for January 11th, the exact day of the anniversary. The rain that fell on Reggio on Thursday generated the need for a postponement which did not take away the meaning of that patch of amaranth that colored one of the symbolic places at city level. For a long time, from 6pm onwards, loud and clear chants were heard from fans who wanted to take back what they had left and what they deserved. A cheering show that had its highlight at 7.14pm (to recall the year of foundation) when amaranth smoke bombs and a light show illuminated the night in Reggio.
The backdrop is the Lungomare Falcomatà which has often welcomed tens of thousands of amaranth fans on historic dates. Events like those of yesterday, even with a numerical participation not comparable to that of large parties, trace a significant path and are the stimulus needed for a restart which we hope will be as fast as possible. Yesterday there was proof that there is a hard core of fans who have a faith that not even two failed registrations in less than two years can call into question. The sense of pride and belonging, for them, goes beyond a ball that doesn’t go in and even a season like this. A year in which on Sunday it is not easy to follow a team which, despite being the designated heir of the historic amaranth tradition, is still called La Fenice Amaranto in the official cards. “We want Reggina back, tradition and identity” was one of the most popular chants, sung several times during the championship matches and which also sounds like a message to the new management. The club knows it has a mandate of trust towards objectives that are clear: to bring Reggina back to Reggio in all its forms and bring it back to categories other than a Serie D which certainly cannot give satisfaction to those who are used to anything else.
