Life has been fairly busy and yet totally boring the last few days. This weekend I spent the majority of my time celebrating someone’s departure or recuperating the next morning. We said goodbye to at least four people and I must admit it was weird to feel sad to say goodbye to people here. Perhaps it is because I spent an entire week seeing them around the house, talking to them about life, and bitching about the sheer amount of words you try to learn.
To break the monotony of staying the weekend in Antigua, I went to watch a local team play soccer. I think this by far has been one of my ultimate favourite experiences here so far. I may not be a soccer fan or really know much about the sport, but I will say if you ever want to experience Latin American culture go see a soccer game. The energy in that stadium more than made up for some of the stresses the previous week had provided. Watching the local Guatemalticos gather to watch their favourite team was intoxicating. They set off firecrackers, chanted and some people even had a drum line. All in the name of showing support. It makes hockey fans in Canada look aloof. Looking back I wish I had captured a video of this absurdity because it was sort of unreal.
The trip itself was equally interesting. It was the furthest North in Antigua I had ever walked, and technically the stadium resided just outside of Antigua’s limits. Walking there it was evident that not many foreigners ventured to walk to this stadium. Also I thank the heavens that I ended up wearing a neutral colour and not sporting white or red (the opponents colours) at that game. This was definitely a Antigua green crowd and anything less was unimaginable. The game itself was equally entertaining. Not exactly professionals, the players were still quite skilled. And honestly I think the fact that they were amateurs made it all the better. And the emotions ran higher when the local favourites just missed the net.
When we arrived this young lad sitting near us was shredding newspaper and we couldn’t figure out what it was for. The answer became clear after the local team scored and the crowd erupted in jeers and torn pieces of newspaper would be unabashedly thrown into the air. It certainly added to sense of occasion. Also during the half time we noticed that the ref had a security guard with him, which we later found out (although thankfully didn’t witness) it was because fans have been known to throw urine on the ref if they feel he has made bad calls.
Equally important to the sheer brilliance of the soccer match, was a man called “Tico”. He appeared to be the Antigua team’s greatest fan. He would hoot and holler whenever a goal was missed and nearly jump for joy when their goal keeper stopped an attempted goal. He spent the game pacing the floor to keep up with the action. Also this man had the most prominent chin I have ever seen. I’m talking Pharaoh style, except that his wasn’t a prosthetic. I should also mention the drama of the players! Number 23 on the opposing team had several wipe out moments, but with what can only be described as pure Latin American emotion, he would dramatically roll on the ground. In fairness he took some fairly heavy hits, including an impressive land on the face. Which as terrible as it is to say, was shockingly funny.
And the ever present “authority” was present, with a number of cops wearing what appeared to be full SWAT gear. Although there was never an incident, it is still a sight that takes some getting used to. A much more enjoyable sight was the view from the stands of the surrounding hills. It was such an impressive backdrop for such an intense game. We ended up leaving close to the end of the match to beat the crowds. The score was 4-0, for Antigua, so it’s safe to say that it is highly unlikely that the opposition scored 5 games to win.
Thus ended my first initiation into Latin American football, at least watching the real “pros” at it. I definitely admired the skill of the players, which were far greater than my own. And I really felt like it was magical to witness such a genuinely authentic experience there. I sincerely hope I can remember that day for the rest of my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment