90 minutes of pure emotion

As I write this morning, I wonder: "How does one describe a soccer game?" This article doesn't do much justice, but it gives the facts.

We had an amazing opportunity last night to go to a soccer game in Maracanã (Mah-rah-kah-nah). This stadium was built for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, which had a paid attendance of 199,500 (actual attendance was estimated at 210,000). That's standing room only, folks. In the late 1990s, it was converted to an "all-seater" stadium, meaning that instead of bleachers, there are actual seats.

I thought that the crowd would be similar to that of an American football game. Boy, was I wrong. Never having seen a live professional soccer game before (only on TV), I had no idea of the excitement that it can incite in die-hard fans. Let me tell you, TV does not do soccer justice.

We got to the stadium about 8pm (for a 9:50 game), and the streets around the stadium were packed with people tailgating and making a ruckus. We soon found out that the guy that got our tickets had 15 in the "special chairs" and 4 seats in the "tribuna de honra", which are the two best types of seats in the stadium. The team went and sat in the special chairs (as there were 14 of them) with R, and D, A, and I got to sit in the tribuna de honra. Even explaining the tribuna is hard. If the president was there, that's where he would sit. We walked into an air-conditioned room and were informed that there would be snacks at halftime, though we couldn't take them out to our seats. We walked out to our seats and where were we but MIDFIELD.

At 8:30, the Fluminense fans were already in full force in the stadium. They had filled up their section and were waving flags and sparklers. As much as I say about it, there is no way to describe a Brasilian's love for his soccer team. The only acceptable reason for a man to cry here is a loss by his soccer team. The fans come with their radios, so they can listen to the game while they are watching it.

One of the only things that is actually on time here is soccer. I can mark time if I'm not looking at the clock. The games always start at the same time, so when I hear the huge boom of fireworks from my house on Wednesdays and Sundays, I know what time it is. Yes, I can hear them from my house. That pitiful sound from 2 km away is nothing compared to hearing it IN the stadium. The referees walked out onto the field, and the entire stadium erupted in boos. I looked for the "other" team, but they were nowhere to be seen. I finally figured out that booing the referees is definitely a requirement, no matter who you're cheering for.

The emotion surrounding the playing and goals is indescribable. I have never heard so much cursing and had to laugh, because every time something didn't go our way, we'd hear it again.... When your team scores a goal, expect to be deafened by the eruption of noise and hugged by everyone around you, even if you don't know them. You're all there for the same reason, after all.

At the end of events, the outcome was this: FLU 3, SP 1. The streets were packed with celebrating fans.