Hola amigos. As you can see from the picture, we finally made it to our first soccer game. The place was outta control. Complete and utter havoc! An experience of a lifetime. The pride that the fans have for their team is beyond belief. Throughout the ENTIRE game, the crowd sang, beat drums, waved banners, chanted, swung fists and went nuts. First let me tell you how Lesley, Jess and I ended up ALONE in the local section....
So woman are not advised to go to soccer games without being accompanied by men, as the fans get rowdy and fights are common. Going with this advice, we found 12 other friends who all wanted to go with us. Good plan...if only it had gone that way. We arrived at the stadium 4 hours early to get tickets and soak in the scene. Buses were arriving with fans from the opposing team and they were being escorted by a parade of police cars. This is due to the fact that the people in the buses were chanting/talking trash and hanging out the windows waving banners and tossing fists. Crazy to see.
Anyhoo, after getting our tix, the three of us ladies decided to go and get a drink and something to eat before going in the stadium and meeting the group an hour later. We had been up until 7am that morning at a techno club and our bodies were hating us. After fueling up, we ventured back towards the stadium. Um...yes. About 10,000 more fans had arrived in the time we were gone and the line to even get into the stadium where we were to meet our friends was miles long. So there that plan went. We would be alone for the game. Seats are not specific and we only had "standing room" tickets which we would later learn were for the DIEHARD fans that lived and breathed to see the Boca Jr's win games. The ratio of guys to girls was roughly 40:1 and panic mode began to hit all three of us. We just knew we had to be on our game and not mess around. Hundreds of police with guns and billy clubs stood in straight lines everywhere you turned and for as far as you could see, there were enthusiastic fans.
When the gates opened, we went in and saw our section. At this point we were dying. The stadium was HUGE and we were in an area (like I said, we accidentally got the diehard section) that had huge walls with rusty metal spikes lined over it and closed off from the rest of the civilized crowd! hahahahahhaha! Our luck, right?! The 3 gringas holding onto our shit for dear life and being shoved around trying to get our bearings and being advised by guys to be careful and informing us it was going to get wild. Anyways, we got situated, chanted and tried to "blend in" with the crowd and had a blast watching the game. The noise level was insane. People were dripping in sweat and screaming at the tops of their lungs. Boca beat the other team (huracan) 3-0 and with each goal we scored (all were scored in the last 20 minutes), the crowd grew even louder. As it was a night game and we thought it would be a good idea to leave a few minutes early and beat the crowds, we headed for the exit. Well...too bad for us, police guard all the exits and under NO conditions is anyone allowed to leave the stadium until the game is over. So...we were there till the end. People began lining up and the claustrophobia hit. We were all squished against a cement wall. Sweaty men still chanting and talking trash and the police not budging. As it turns out, we were all held in the stadium for a a good half hour after the game ended, so that the opposing team could escape the stadium safely. So bizarre. When the police finally backed up to let people out, a stamped went into effect. It was scary as all shit. Lesley, Jess and I were all clutching hands and near the very front. I went to turn the corner to go down the stairs and was literally pinned against the wall and couldn't move as masses of fans fought to get out. I could feel Lesley's hand still but could not move. It only lasted a matter of seconds, but definitely felt like I was done for. People leave the stadium RUNNING. There is no order whatsoever and within about 2 minutes a big fight broke out on the stairs. Others jumped into break it up, as we raced our behinds out as fast as we could. What a night to remember...the three American girls amongst thousands of wild Boca Jr fans. GO TEAM :D
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