A weekend filled with fútbol

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This weekend I went to my first Argentine futbol game, Argentina Vs. Bolivia at the River Plate Stadium. I wasn't sure that i wanted to go because soccer isn't really my thing and i didn't want to pay 170 pesos, but I'm so glad that I went. I feel like its one of those experiences that you just can't go without doing while in Argentina.

My roommate Dani sold me here Argentina jersey for 40 pesos (such a steal) so my roomates and I were all decked out for the game. We even painted little Argentine flags on our faces. It was a beautiful day and we had a few friends over to the house for some drinks before we headed out because we live walking distance from the stadium. It was so nice to be able to walk and to see everyone in the streets walking to the game. We even saw a school bus full of Bolivian fans on their way to the game. When we got in to the stadium, it was filled with Argentine fans (of course because I'm in Argentina) and there was one small section reserved for Bolivians (there is a large population of Bolivians living in Argentina that come looking for jobs). Soccer is crazy in Argentina and can get really violent. Because of this any fans from the opposing team have to sit in another section and they have to wait 30 minutes until all the Argentina fans leave. The game was really fun and it was great to be with a bunch of my friends, especially because a lot of them were leaving because the program at the University of Belgrano had just ended. It was really cool to hear all of the cheers and see how into the game everyone got. I felt like the game was a little more subdued than the big rivalry games though because everyone was rooting for Argentina. The game went by so quickly and before I knew it we were out in the street again. I was really excited because i bought a flag in the street for 10 pesos and I've wanted one for a long time. Afterwards we all went and got ice cream and my favorite ice cream place, Fericci.

On Sunday I was lucky enough to be able to go to another soccer game, this time for free. We went to watch Atlanta play, a local team from Villa Crespo with some really die hard fans. I had planned on going by myself to meet everyone there but I was really happy when my friend Lisa decided to go with me. Villa Crespo/ Chacarita isn't dangerous, but it's not a super nice area either and I wasn't sure exactly where I was going. Of course we were running late, so we had to find the stadium by ourselves and buy our tickets. I was really proud though that we got there with little problems, bought our tickets and found everyone in the stadium. We were in the public seats which was really cool to see. I didn't pay much attention to the game, but the watching the fans was a show in itself. All of the fans had flags stretching multiple rows of seats so that in the thick of all of the fans some of them could barely see. And they had a full band to play along with all of the cheers that it seemed like everyone knew except for us. It was so crazy to see fans so devoted to a a B league team. There were even people that had tattoos of the team and there was a man behind us screaming out insults and swear words every few minutes at the opposing team. Overall, it was a really good experience, and I can finally say that I've experienced Argentina futbol. However, I'm not quite sure that I completely understand it.

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