Champions League final turns Southern Hemisphere upside down
Champions League
Bleary-eyed and weary, a legion of football fans shuffles through the night in their warmest of slippers and clutching at coffee cups.
Welcome to the Southern Hemisphere, where watching live European football requires the stamina of Paul Scholes and the fancy-footwork of Lionel Messi - if only to avoid tripping over the cat slumbering peacefully on the living room floor.
Making sure the volume is turned way down for the start of the broadcast - waking the entire household is a rookie mistake - fans in the southern half of the globe are well accustomed to 4am starts and less than productive morning meetings at work.
Watching televised football from Europe is a rite of passage for many Australians, with the bona fides of fans judged on how many hours of sleep they've sacrificed for the love of their team - if not on the number of relationships they've jeopardised as a result.
With another bumper TV audience expected to tune in throughout Asia and Australia, here's hoping that Wayne Rooney, Andres Iniesta and co. turn on the style in the UEFA Champions League final in Rome.
Manchester United or Barcelona, Ronaldo or Messi?
For many fans in the Southern Hemisphere, the simple question is whether they can get through the day without falling asleep at their desk.
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