Its More Than a Game
For Argentines football is more than a game. Its a passion, a culture, a way of life. Obsession would best sum up the feeling Argentines have for this game!
During our time in Buenos Aires we couldn´t pass up the opportunity to go to a match and see what all the fuss is about. The team with the craziest fans is ¨la Boca Juniors.´Their famous son Diego Maradona is portrayed as a God and this is the team we set out to see. Unfortunately on the day we had set up to meet a dodgy local, who was going to sell us tickets to the match from the back of his car, the news headlines read ¨La Boca Juniors game cancelled due to fears of crowd violence.¨
Not to worry though as we scored tickets for 2nd on the ladder River Plate verses Rosario Central. What an experience it was! Funny enough we found ourselves in the craziest section of the crowd, behind the goals with the River Plate (home team) cheer squad. A few fans advised us that this was not the place for us as it was dangerous (seems to be the consensus anywhere we go in South America). However a friendly local helped us settle in. Before I knew it my shirt was off and I was jumping around, fist in air, screaming ´ Vamos River Plate Vamos.´ Katie was doing the same only with her shirt on. It should be noted that she was 1 of 2 women in this entire section of over 200 people!
The cheer squad were passionate in Argentinian terms (this equates to NUTS in Aussie terms). The cheer squad, made up of about 60 men who must have a diet of protein powder and steroids, smashed there symbols and banged there drums. Their many banners flying red and white were everywhere. Some extended from the top of the stadium to the front row seats. They controlled the crowd with various chants and didn´t stop singing for the entire 90 minutes.
The atmosphere was electric. Picture being in the general admission of a punk rock concert mixed with a riot. You couldn´t even tell if a goal was scored because; 1. you couldn´t see the match and
During our time in Buenos Aires we couldn´t pass up the opportunity to go to a match and see what all the fuss is about. The team with the craziest fans is ¨la Boca Juniors.´Their famous son Diego Maradona is portrayed as a God and this is the team we set out to see. Unfortunately on the day we had set up to meet a dodgy local, who was going to sell us tickets to the match from the back of his car, the news headlines read ¨La Boca Juniors game cancelled due to fears of crowd violence.¨
Not to worry though as we scored tickets for 2nd on the ladder River Plate verses Rosario Central. What an experience it was! Funny enough we found ourselves in the craziest section of the crowd, behind the goals with the River Plate (home team) cheer squad. A few fans advised us that this was not the place for us as it was dangerous (seems to be the consensus anywhere we go in South America). However a friendly local helped us settle in. Before I knew it my shirt was off and I was jumping around, fist in air, screaming ´ Vamos River Plate Vamos.´ Katie was doing the same only with her shirt on. It should be noted that she was 1 of 2 women in this entire section of over 200 people!
The cheer squad were passionate in Argentinian terms (this equates to NUTS in Aussie terms). The cheer squad, made up of about 60 men who must have a diet of protein powder and steroids, smashed there symbols and banged there drums. Their many banners flying red and white were everywhere. Some extended from the top of the stadium to the front row seats. They controlled the crowd with various chants and didn´t stop singing for the entire 90 minutes.
The atmosphere was electric. Picture being in the general admission of a punk rock concert mixed with a riot. You couldn´t even tell if a goal was scored because; 1. you couldn´t see the match and
2. the crowd were at maximum volume and intensity the whole game.
We moved to a section that was a little more tranquilo for the second half and more importantly we could actually see the game. River Plate won 2-0. I would have hated to be in that if they had of lost. For security reasons the Rosario crowd had to leave the stadium about 30 minutes before the River mob. I´ve never seen so many police at a sporting match. The crowd were great, the game was of a high level and its true this game is an obsession!
We moved to a section that was a little more tranquilo for the second half and more importantly we could actually see the game. River Plate won 2-0. I would have hated to be in that if they had of lost. For security reasons the Rosario crowd had to leave the stadium about 30 minutes before the River mob. I´ve never seen so many police at a sporting match. The crowd were great, the game was of a high level and its true this game is an obsession!
posted by Katie and Joel at 11:00 AM
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