Argentina vs Colombia

This past Saturday I went to watch Argentina play against Colombia at the River Plate Monumental Stadium. Having to win to remain in good standing for World Cup qualification the game had implications that probably went further than a tourist looking to have a good time. Tickets were 80 pesos a relatively cheap price for decent seats, behind one of the goals. The walk towards the stadium was exactly how I imagined it. Fans shouting, screaming and funneling into the small stadium gates. Something I realize now is that in the Platea section, (the one where we sat as opposed to the Popular where all the hooligans sit) you need to get there early. At a certain point people just start sitting anywhere and not caring about ticket numbers and eventually the pre-game shouting and standing dies down during the game. This made it difficult for us to find seats at first but after we found some we were able to join in the cheering. All of this was before the game started and with the Colombian crowd right behind us we witnessed some dirty jeers, which is exactly what I was expecting. Another thing was that the local crowd was not wearing Argentine attire as I expected. I was decked out in a recently purchased jersey but I guess the locals care more about the football than looking like a fan, which I respect. They showed just that in the first half, with a wide open game with sub par football being played, they were clearly tense and not responding to the Colombian jeers behind them. There were one or two who would turn around and give the Colombians a few hand signals but nothing spectacular. A decent goal in the second half led to a more relaxed crowd and little more interaction with the Colombian fans. It began to get quite fun to watch and honestly more fun than the game. There was one incident where an Argentine lady was jeering a whole crowd of Colombian girls, while men held pesos and shouted. The game ended 1-0 and the fans scurried out to celebrate while the Colombians still screamed and shouted despite a loss. All in all the atmosphere is what made the game. With no clock, no scoreboard, and definitely no big screen with replays, the stadium was about football and fans. Average football was played by both teams, and those who despise football would say it was boring, but the atmosphere made it far from that. I will never forget the shouting, singing and especially the jeering. I never knew that 5 year olds knew bad words and naughty hand signs, and how well they used them, mis dios.