Switzerland was victorious over South Korea in its coup du monde match last night. I know this because this otherwise peaceful and polite ville was transformed into town without pity shortly after 11 p.m.

In this town were strangers generally nod and whisper, "bon soir" when they pass you on the street at this hour, the norm became loud shouting and constant car horns. Hundreds of people, mostly young adults, took to the streets so much that the main routes through town appeared more like 11 in the morning than 11 at night. The roads were jammed with cars, scooters and bikes... and the sidewalks crowded with people festooned in Swiss flags. A visitor from another planet might have assumed world peace had just been declared with all of the joyful exuberance displayed. The UN peacekeepers should definitely be working on a way to bottle this esprit.

One group of young men held up a flag across the street to block a taxi. They proceeded to hold the flag up for the taxi to pass under, which it did. Another young man managed to thrust his arm through the doors of a bus as they were closing and the doors shut on his arm. In his hand was a Swiss flag he waved proudly as the bus passed through town. (That`s got to leave a mark.)

On a similar note, I watched a beautifully produced ad for Emeriates Airlines on BBC television a few days ago showing two Asian strangers being dropped off in a small town in what looked like South America. They meandered through the deserted streets until they stumbled upon a bar where folks had just finished watching a football match on television. The crowd suddenly erupted and lifted the two Asian fellows on their shoulders in celebration. Then, everyone went outside to kick a soccer ball around the town square. The message on the screen... " We all speak the same language: Football." I felt the true spirit of that message last night.