A New Experience (South American Futbol)

 Heather asked me to write the blog post this time, because other than our swimming pool construction starting, not too much new here. I was fortunate enough to have the experience of a lifetime. I went to my first futbol [soccer] game. My good friend Will, my building contractor Rodolfo, and our guardian Jimmy traveled to Guayaquil to see the Ecuadorian champs, Barcelona vs Argentina Boca. Argentina won 2-1, but that is not the story.

To preface this, I have been to over 200 Green Bay Packers games in my days, at several stadiums, but never have I witnessed what I saw on Wednesday. We got to the stadium and it's like any other stadium with vendors selling their goods. Food, beer, water, soda, fireworks, etc. That's right, I said fireworks. In any stadium in the USA, you can not even smoke, but here you can bring in fireworks.

We enter the stadium and security does its thing and searches your bags. I really don't know what they were looking for since fireworks are okay. Again, it was like any stadium in the USA with the hustle and bustle of people, food and beverage vendors. The only difference is that I had a 22 oz. beer and a foot long hot dog combo which cost me only $3.50. The beer was ice cold and the hot dog did the job. My friend treated us all to a bag of plantain chips. These are green plantains sliced very thin and fried like potato chips and salted. Bet you can't eat just on!? They were a perfect compliment to my beer and hot dog.

 Onto the game. The referees came out and everyone whistled. This would be comparable to booing in the US. Argentina came out and the whistling continued. The Barcelona Bulls came on to the field, and the crowd immediately in unison started to sing a song. It was like being at a Wisconsin Badger game when the band plays "Roll out the Barrel". Both countries' national anthems were played and at the end of the Ecuadorian anthem came the first barrage of fireworks, toilet paper, smoke bombs and who knows what else. I was in awe, as my Ecuadorian friend saw the big smile on my face, and was proud of his country's enthusiasm for its beloved team.

The game begins and just like every football game I've been to, fans are shouting out their opinions and ideas for the coaches and players. What I didn't expect was the party happening in the end zone.  This area would be equivalent to the bleacher section at a baseball game. They are the lower priced seats and it's where the party fans are allowed to do just about anything they wish. The crowd in this area was approximately 5000 fans and as soon as the referee started the game, the drums started to bang and the crowd started to sing. I thought how cool to have them singing to start the game. Well, again I was wrong. They sang throughout the whole game except during halftime. One song that they sang, and they sang it probably 5 or 6 times, the crowd would work their way to the top of the grandstand and when it was the correct time they would stampede to the bottom and back up to the top. This happened about 4 times during the song. Yes, people fell and others helped them up so they could continue their dance.

At times you would see them collect the toilet paper that had been thrown and start a little bonfire right there in the stands and people would dance around the fire. FYI, the grandstand is 100% concrete, so really no worries from the rest of the crowd. During the whole game there were roman candles, bottle rockets and various fireworks going off.

In the US opposing fans sit amongst the home town crowd and for the most part with no problems, except at an Oakland Raiders game. Here, for their safety, they must sit in a protected area that is well guarded by the police. I asked my Ecuadorian friend, Will if it was that dangerous for these fans of Argentina, and he assured me it was just precautionary, but there have been a few instances at games, but mainly in Europe. I'm guessing if you have a bottle rocket in your hands and someone upset you, well, you get the drift. All in all the crowd was fantastic and I never felt any presence of danger.

My friend Will drove us to Guayaquil in his new Ford F-150 crew cab, but did not want to park at the stadium. So we parked about 10 miles away at his friend's house and he dropped us off at the stadium and we would  catch a cab back. That plan was a great one until with about 10 minutes left in the game it started to rain. Now normally, most of the fans would walk home or catch the bus, but with the rain, by the time we got to the street all of the cabs were gone. So. in a nice warm downpour we had to hike about 2 miles to get to a major road to catch a cab. We could tell that with the amount of people trying to catch a cab, that we could be waiting for quite awhile, so Rodolfo approached a pickup truck that was at a stop and go light and finally convinced him to give us a ride for $7.00. It was still pouring rain as we all piled into the back of his truck. Soon we realized that 3 more guys climbed in also, and after a small conversation in Spanish with Will, they hopped out and we were on our way. The pickup was a mid 70's Nissan that needed an exhaust, so rain, wind, and noise were against us, but the fumes made it a little more enjoyable as we laughed all of the way. Oh yes, the truck was hand brushed bright yellow. In Ecuador, that is officially a taxi.

We got to Will's friend"s house and after a quick dry off we were on our way to Punta Carnero.  This experience will live with me forever as Heather and I are enjoying as much of the local culture, food, people and fun that comes our way everyday.