Greek fans packed the basketball arena Tuesday night. They whistled loudly and booed to distract U.S. shooters and thrust out their palms–the Greek equivalent of giving the finger–after every controversial call.
Several hundred U.S. fans, many waving the Stars and Stripes, made some noise also.
U.S. and Greek fans in the nosebleed section nearly brawled once and had to be separated by police after an American grabbed and pulled at a Greek flag that had been waved near his face.
A Greek police officer offered to take Chris Ponobre, 29, of Hawaii and four of his friends to new seats, but they left the arena, saying that they were afraid for their safety.
“One guy put his Greek flag all over my face, so I just grabbed it and then about 200 people wanted to fight me,” Ponobre said. “I called them out to fight.”
The officer said Ponobre was drunk. Ponobre said he had had only 1 1/2 beers.
Other Americans said they enjoyed the raucous atmosphere and were treated well by the Greek majority in the stands.