El Classico

For the uninformed, el classico in Argentine futbol is a big derby match. For those of you uninformed of British futbol, a big derby match is when two rival soccer teams from the same city play eachother. For those of you uninformed on soccer, it's like the World Cup, only bigger, but just for one city. Kinda' like the IRA in Ireland and the Ulster Unionists playing a rugby game. With weapons, of course. At least, before the IRA surrendered all their weapons, because I'm sure they can't get any weapons now....

What a bizarre tangent. I really have to do better at reigning myself in. So anyway, in Buenos Aires there are 6 teams in the city, and another 4 in the suburbs, and then another 4 in the province of Buenos Aires in the First Division. (I think that's right - it might not add up to 14, but it's a majority of the 18 teams anyway.) So instead of having just one classico (like Glasgow has Celtic vs Rangers - also known as the religious wars because it's the Catholics vs the Protestants, or the Papist pigs vs the hedonists), we have several. And then the really really big one, River v Boca, is the Super Classico.

Quick spanish lesson: In Buenos Aires, they don't speak spanish, they speak Castellano. In Castellano, we are slowly migrating to speaking English but with an Italian accent. So Super is now a word in Castellano. As is Delivery. I've got a friend who claims people say Thank You. I think he's drunk, and just hears things. He's American, so he may very well be drunk.

Back to the Classico. So Sunday Racing hosted River. (Tangent alert!) In futbol, you say the home team first. This is difficult for Americans, who give the visitors that courtesy. Now my father in law is a Racing fan, or as they say here, he's from Racing. I am from River (I married into River - Ana's brothers, mother, and mother's family are all from River). So naturally we went together. And naturally, when Tito bought the tickets, he got them for the expensive seats in the "visitor's section" so we weren't exactly sure if we'd be among Racing or River supporters. The truth is, the expensive "visitor's" section is always bought out buy the home team. The cheap visitor's section behind one of the goals is where all the visitor's fans really sit.

Racing is in a suburb just south of the city. Now, this particular suburb is very urban - very industrial. And Racing has a proud populist tradition, including naming it's stadium after their most popular fan: Juan Peron. (Unsure who Juan Peron is? He married a woman named Evita...) River's nickname is the millionares. Enuff said.

Getting to the game was interesting - we had to cross a bridge over the railroad bed that links up the Boca port. Crossing a bridge on game day is like trying to cross a bridge going into Washington at rush hour. So Tito and I planned ahead and left for the game a couple hours before kick off. And we got there in like 2 minutes. Oops. So we had a little bit of time to walk around the neighborhood, where I saw the hospital where my father-in-law met my mother-in-law. Yes they met at a hospital. No they weren't patients. They were med students. I guess Gray's Anatomy is true in Argentina, too.

So we walk into the stadium, and this thing is truly amazing. It's called the cylinder (because it's round) - well actually it's called Juan Peron, but it's nickname is the cylinder - and was built for the 1978 World Cup. This thing is amazing. It's one of the few stadiums in Argentina that doesn't have a huge fence between the field and the fans to keep them off the field. It has a trench. It took me a while before I noticed this, but around this immaculate pitch (british for soccer field) is this concrete trench that is deep enough that were you to fall into it (yes, there's water at the bottom like a moat - but no crocodiles) you would not be able to climb out on your own. And of course, fans were standing or sitting on the edge of the moat in order to be just a little bit closer to the field. Because, well, a true fanatic would never fall into the moat even during the most passionate of moments when everyone pushes forward after a goal is scored. Is that a tangent? I don't think so. Let me know if I go off on a tangent....

So since we are so early, and we go to our expensive seats ($15), I scope out the two most important things to note for later: food and bathroom options. Since we are in a section that can be delgated to visitors, it's blocked off from all the surrounding sections, and we have a bathroom just for our section. Score one for the convenience of short lines. Now the food. There's a guy standing right outside the bathroom (I'm not sure if that's good or bad) selling hamburgers. Well, technically, it's a hamburger. It reminds you of those disgusting things called hamburgers that you got in elementary school (if you were in a public school). If you were to be really really really hungry, you'd eat one. I did. I was hungry enough to finish it despite the fact that I don't think it was truly beef. Stadium marked up price? $1. So you need something to wash it down with, right? The guy had Coke. In 2 liter bottles. One 12 oz cup from his 2 liter bottle? $1. Apparently, that's where he makes all his money. (No, it's not cold, no there is no ice - but it was like 4 degrees celsius - or 40 degrees fahrenheit - outside, so I'm not worried about a cold beverage.)

Now, I can sit comfortably in my seat and wait for kickoff in two hours or so. Fortunately, there is a Reserve team game first, so we get to watch the reserve players play a full match - sort of. It was one really really long half, with unlimited subs. About half way through, Tito turns to me and says "Is it just me, or this reserve team game better than an MLS game?" Now I'm a big MLS supporter - DC United is my team, after all - but I have to admit that the reserve players had much better technical skill, tactical awareness, and played a very exciting attacking game that made some MLS games look, well, not so good. (Note to DC United - have a look at the right winger for River's reserve team!)

Because the Reserve teams are playing, the stadium is not very full, but the Barra Bravas for each team are there in full force. The Barra Brava is the term for the really die-hard fanatical fans who sit behind their team's goal, sing, wave flags, throw things at people they don't like (refs, other team's goalie, etc.), and generate an electricity in the stadium that is truly awesome. (Awesome in the true sense of the word - provoking awe - not in the surfer speak I usually use, which is just really cool.) During the reserve team match, and before the game starts, their songs generally have to do with the other team's barra brava. Often, the word puta is used. And a few other more colorful terms. Did I mention there was a 12 year old nearby who was jumping up and down, waving her arm, and singing all the songs? Including the putas and more off-color commentary? So this is really a family affair!

Incidentally, one of River's fan groups is called the Drunks at the Table. Well, in Castellano anyway. These are the guys who got barred from World Cup matches, fought with the police in Paraguay during the Copa Libertadores match, and allegedly trashed the players cars after the game against Racing. Allegedly. They say it was some guy named the Turk and his friends. I will bite my tongue for now on that little tidbit. As cool as it might appear to be a part of a group called the Drunks at the Table, I'm thinking I don't want to be a part of that particular fan group....

So, in summary, the fan groups here make the Hogettes (Redskins fans) look like a bunch of drag queens. Actually, I guess they do that themselves. Remind me to insert a picture of them here next to a picture of los Borrachos del Tablon.

So the stadium starts filling in, and we are clearly the least fanatical fans at the game. Tito, being a Racing supporter, is at least in the right place. I'm just determined to not jump up and scream my head off should River score. Hogettes might not like that much, but these guys would probably throw me up on the barbed wire fence that's separating us from even more die-hard fanatical fans for Racing.

This game is sold out. What that means is that they have sold a ticket for every seat in the sections where there are seats, and some ridiculously large amount for the standing room only section - which is like 3/4ths of the stadium. Except for the two sections between the River supporters and the Racing supporters - these two sections are completely empty in order to prevent fan violence. Even though there are barbed wire fences and riot police between them. Interesting comparison here - MLS counts attendance based on each ticket sold or given away (regardless if they actually attended the game). Here, they call it a sell out when two whole sections are empty in order to prevent the other oceans of fans from mingling. I wish I could describe the view I had of looking at the swarm of people jumping, singing and waving flags in support of their team. Oh wait, I think that's what I've been doing for the last couple of paragraphs!!!

OK, unfortunatley I have to finish this later because Sofia is now screaming her head off like a Drunk at the Table upset after the River loss.