Soccer in Argentina

As requested this week I can tell you a little bit about sports here in Argentina. Really, when you talk about sports there is only one thing to talk about and that is soccer. Soccer is, by far, the most popular sports and a huge part of the lifestyles of many people.

The word for Soccer in Spanish is futbol (pronounced football) to distinguish it from what we know as football they call ours futbol americano which they do NOT play here.
Wanting to give you a great report this week I asked several friends about going to one of these games. They all looked at me like I was crazy. When I asked why, they simply replied that going to a soccer game is dangerous ESPECIALLY if the teams are rivals. The crowds get out of control. They yell, push scream, threaten etc. From our house there is a stadium that, although distant, we can hear the cheers and yells of the crowds until late into the night and I can tell you - it is loud!
Now, although I do not have a first-hand witness of a soccer game, I found an article that someone wrote about their recent experience with a soccer game here in Argentina. This is what he wrote:

The Argentina Soccer Game Experience Might be More than you Bargained for

by, Peter Schuller

I made my way into a jam-packed line of what seemed like thousands of River Plate fans (that is one of the most popular teams) while we waited to enter the stadium. Now “waiting” in an Argentine soccer crowd is a lot different than any other “waiting” experience I have ever had. “Waiting” involved jumping up and down and chanting River Plate team songs for about an hour and a half, while every few minutes the herd would push forward and literally carry the pack about 10 meters until we were all back on our own two feet and chanting again.

Eventually, due to unknown circumstances, the game had started but we were still trapped outside the stadium with a drove of rowdy fans. Naturally, our “waiting” chants then began to focus (not so kindly) on the line of policemen in full riot-gear that were trying to keep this mob from becoming…well…a mob. Finally, enough time had passed, and we had moved forward enough 10 meter increments and were inside the ticketing gate

s only about 20 minutes into the first half. After the 5 minute run up what seemed like 20 flights of stairs to the general admission section, my group of 7 people squeezed our way into about a 10 foot wide section of concrete and declared it our “seats” for the game.

Like “waiting,” the term “seats” is also loosely defined. In fact, we didn’t sit down once during the next hour and a half. Instead, the chants that we had been swept up in outside the stadium continued to be sung non-stop by tens of thousands of people. This was an amazing spectacle to see and hear. Every goal or tackle or pass seemed to set the crowd into a beautifully synchronized rendition of one of the many River Plate songs, complete with hand motions and choreographed bobbing.

Eventually the game had ended in a landslide as River won 5-0, and we waited the obligatory 30-45 minutes for the opposing fans to exit the stadium safely (this is a standard practice that has become a necessity as soccer hooliganism is very common in Argentina). As we stumbled and pushed and tried our hardest to avoid being trampled on our way out of the stadium, I marveled at what a great sporting event I had just witnessed. I can honestly say that I have never been in such an energized crowd in my entire life; and I have been to countless professional football, basketball, and baseball games, a Real Madrid soccer game, the NCAA college basketball final four and finals, as well as a major league baseball playoff game."