Futbol (soccer for those of you in the US) is almost a religion here. In fact, my history prof said that there’s a church in Argentina named after their famous hero, Diego something-or-other (you can tell how much I care about Argentinian soccer—I’m a Chile fan through and through). So, it was imperative for the sake of our cultural experience to go to a futbol game.
Chile vs Ecuador, October 14.
Chile classified for the World Cup when they played Colombia the weekend we were in Mendoza. Part of me wishes that I had been in Chile when it happened because everyone was celebrating. A few students were in Santiago at the time, and said that there was basically a riot! At any rate, the game against Ecuador did not matter much to Chile, since we already made the World Cup. However, the game was a major deciding factor for Ecuador, and affected Argentina’s standing as well. Of course, a major topic of conversation at lunch and once a few days in a row was—who would win?
I could NOT wait to go to this game. Almost everyone in the group bought a Chilean soccer jersey to show our support and undying loyalty. We arrived at the stadium several hours early to guarantee our seats. A few of us got free baseball caps saying Chile’s going to South Africa—great souvenir for sure.
As we walked down the steps to our spot, people were whistling, clapping, and cheering—I wondered what was going on in the field, but there was no one there…turns out they were reacting to us gringas. We definitely got our 15 minutes of fame. People would approach us and ask if they could take a picture with us…we obliged. I honestly felt like a celebrity. It got old very quickly, though, so to amuse ourselves, we started making funny faces as they snapped pictures…a few people laughed, but I think it deterred them from asking again.
The people sitting in front of us also kept us entertained as we waited for the game. They kept trying to set each other’s hair on fire…and one of them was quite successful. Burnt hair smell for awhile…Que feo!
The atmosphere kept getting more and more charged as the game approached. The entire stadium did the wave (hacer la ola), and it was really cool to watch as it went around the entire stadium. People began chanting at least an hour before the game, and it was more and more frequent as the time to start approached.
Everyone went wild when the players took the field. The first half, nothing much happened but a few close calls for both sides. Chile scored in the second half, and this was the most memorable moment of the entire game. Everyone was screaming, clapping, and setting off flares. The celebration lasted several minutes after the game began again. It was incredible to be there.
It was hard to pick out the words to some of the cheers, and there wasn’t an announcer so it was hard to keep track of what was happening all the time--but the crowd’s reaction said it all…
“Jess, did you catch what happened?”
“No, but they are yelling ‘hijo de puta’ so it can’t be good…”
“Hey, what is it that they are singing?”
“I dunno…the only word I caught was ‘whore.’”
Needless to say, we heard a lot of garabatos (swear words) in the stadium.
The few cheers I did catch:
Chi-chi-chi-le-le-le, viva Chile! ßThe most ubiquitous and well-known.
Vamos, vamos Chilenos, esta noche, tenemos que ganar!
Ole, ole ole ole, Chile, Chile! ßThis one’s really fun because you can go on as long as you like.
The end of the game was great, too—some of the more daring spectators started climbing the fence. It was similar to the atmosphere after scoring the goal, but the goal actually was a bigger deal.
I cannot tell you how much fun this was—it really is one of those things you have to experience in person. I wish we could go to more, and absolutely cannot wait for the World Cup this summer!
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We’re at the halfway point in our semester, so are leaving tonight for a week-long Spring Break trip to the south of Chile. We’re going to Chiloe, an island, and then making our way back slowly, passing through lots of cities. It should be a lot of fun, and is definitely a needed break…we have had several tests and papers this past week, and more the week get back. I probably won’t have much access to the Internet, so please don’t be offended or worried if I don’t get back to you! Hope you are all doing well—ciao, un besito!
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