I am not much of a soccer...I mean, futbol fan but I enjoyed the experience just the same. The crowd cheered in unison as their team came out. When the opposing team came out they began to whistle (which in the US is another form of cheering but in Argentina it is their version of a "booo" it seemed). The crowds were quite enthusiastic. The whole time during the game each side had their series of songs that they sang loud and proud in unison. They even had music and percussion accompaniment. I would write some of the lyrics but most of them were quite vulgar.
Futbol seems kind of slow to me. It was almost 45 minutes before the first goal was made. It happened so fast too. I was watching but I must have blinked and then next thing I new the opposing crowd begin to roar and the player that made the goal scaled the fence in all his excitement.
This reminds me, I was staring over at the opposite crowd. The crowd it swayed and grumbled as if it were a huge monster. It is amazing how sports brings people together the way it does. Most people don't get this passionate about their faith or stand together this tight for a common value but when it comes to sports...it's another deal. Which goes to show us that we do have the great ability to unite and to be passionate.
As the game was coming to an end their was, all of a sudden, a shift in the air. I looked below me and saw men trying to scale the gate to get over onto the field. Apparently, our team was losing and the fans were getting angry. Next, some other men turned over an empty Coca Cola kiosk, using it's metal frame to tear through the gate. I was not alarmed by what I was seeing because I knew that the futbol games got a bit rowdy. I was so distracted with all that that I din't even notice when the game ended. The thing that clued me in was the mad rush towards the gate that lead to the opposing side. This gate was quickly shut by masked and armed police. We were trapped!! (this is where I became a bit alarmed). Next thing I know I see a fire burning on the ground and the seats of the stadium being torn out of the concrete and thrown at the police. The fire department came in and put the fire out and then they started to hose the defiant fans on the ground floor. We began to make our way out of the stadium. As we were walking down the street I saw a stream of people running. My first instinct was to run out of their way but as I began to charge up I was instructed to stay put. The mass ran passed us and when I looked, there was nothing chasing them. The rest of our walk was tanquilo. All in all this was a great...once in a life time...experience.
(pictures to come)
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