It is no secret than Roma have one of the most passionate fan bases in Italian football and perhaps in the whole footballdom. The Giallorossi are likely the only club in the world whose supporters once filled the stadium to cheer for them even though their team was not playing. Not there, at least.
It happened on October 19, 1997, when the Roma management had the idea of opening the stands of the Stadio Olimpico to let their supporters come watch their team play at Fiorentina as the game was broadcast on the stadium’s giant screens for free.
The Giallorossi were to play the Viola at the Artemio Franchi Stadium but only 3000 tickets had been made available to the visiting fans. They were definitely too few for a fan base filled with enthusiasm at their club’s recent exploits.
Roma had just thrashed Napoli 6-2 the past week and, after five league games, they were second in the table, only behind Inter and the Fenomeno Ronaldo.
And so, the club came up with the idea of using the home stadium as a gigantic venue for the Giallorossi people to gather and support their beloved from afar.
For the record, the game ended in a goalless stalemate. Roma had a chance to score from the penalty spot but Francesco Toldo denied Abel Eduardo Balbo to save Fiorentina. Still, the game went down in the history of Italian football as the only occasion when a football stadium was used not to host a game, rather to broadcast one.
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