Argentines are crazy about soccer! Every Argentine chooses one of the 30+ soccer clubs and remains a passionate fan for life. Damian's team is Velez Sarsfield (Velez). Velez's club is in Buenos Aires, a 10 minute walk from where Damian's parents live. He states that it is the only team where you can bring children and women to the stadium. Other teams, such as Boca or River (the two most commonly known teams of Argentina), have fans that get out of control... setting garbage on fire, throwing urine, and using inappropriate language.
The following is a brief summary of how I chose an Argentine soccer team...
1. My first game in Argentina:
When we arrived in Argentina, it was the last weekend of games of the year. Damian and I went to see Velez vs. Rosario Central (Central). Central just happens to be the team of Damian's mother. Damian's mother is from Rosario, a large city 3 hours from Buenos Aires. It is called the Chicago of Argentina (because of the history of the mafia)!!!
Following are three photos from the game and one video. I wanted to share the video of the fans singing because they sing LOUDLY throughout the ENTIRE game (and this game had no significance)
To the left is the opposing team (Central) setting fire to something after they scored a goal! Now remember, Rosario is 3 hours away and there were still that many people at the game.
Below is the video of the Velez fans.
Central won the game - Damian's mom was very happy about this!
At this point, I was not yet convinced of which team I preferred... Velez or Central.
2. Santa Claus
Christmas came along and Santa Claus brought me a Central soccer ball - I was leaning heavily to the Central side - Santa obviously knows best, right?
3. The 100th anniversary of Velez - the Caravan.
Velez turned 100 on January 1, 2010 and there was a parade that lasted 4 hours, extended a mile, and included over 30,000 people (and Velez has a very small fan following compared to other teams).
I included pictures from the parade. We walked for 2 miles until we ended at the stadium where we watched videos of the history of Velez and saw a fireworks show.
I also included two videos of the fans singing along the caravan. The singing lasted for the duration of the parade - Argentines are passionate about their soccer!
At this point, I was pretty close to picking Velez - the energy and the passion of the fans had me almost sold.
4. But then we took a trip to Rosario!
Damian's aunt and two cousins still live in Rosario where his mother grew up. We rode a bus to the city one morning to visit them. His cousin Alejandro picked us up from the bus station and from that moment on, I was a solid Central fan.
You see, Alejandro has Central in his blood. He is living and breathing Central and his energy immediately convinced me that I needed to be a Central fan too.
Aleja
ndro's father (Damian's uncle) was a famous soccer player from Argentina. He started off playing for Central and played for a number of other Argentine teams. He even played on the national team and competed against players like Pele!
Alejandro played for Central too and currently coaches a team in the lower divisions of Central.
In included pictures of Alejandro showing me the Central stadium and a view of the river with the curb painted in colors of Central.
Alejandro gave me a Central jersey and asked me to take pictures of the Central fan in Chicago at different famous Chicago sites.
In the picture of Alejandro and I: The wall behind us is decorated with pictures of Alejandro's father playing for various teams. The black and white photo behind my head is of Pele shaking his hand before a game.
Soooo... with my Central soccer ball, jersey, and ticket stub to their last victory, I am an official Central fan.
VAMOS CENTRAL!!!!!!!!!
