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Published: February 25th 2007
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Alright! First soccer match of the year between "Bolivar" and "The Strongest", the two teams from La Paz that play in the Bolivian national league, and this would be my first live soccer match in South America. I could feel the intensity of the game early in the day in the office between the fans of Bolivar and The Strongest. My friend from work who invited me along is a die-hard Strongest fan. Don't even mention Bolivar to her! Anyhow, she had offered to buy a group of us tickets to the game but due to the constant miscommunication I seem to have with her, she didn't come to work that afternoon and didn't buy us tickets either 😞 So a group of us met at my office at about 6:30PM to make it to the 8PM game. The traffic to the stadium was absolutely horrible. It didn't help that it started raining as well when looking for a taxi or minibus for us, so everybody was jamming into all forms of public transportation. It took us almost half and hour to find an empty minibus to take us to the stadium (all the taxis were filled). Finally we arrived to
the stadium, ticketless of course, and they were no longer selling tickets to the game as they were sold out. So we resorted to buying tickets from scalpers, for 45 Bs each. An unbelievable markup for what they should have cost, but still cheap to see a game. I was told that this game was not to be missed by so many people. So we eventually worked our way into the stadium and found a seat next to the section filled with Bolivar fans. I guess we were cheering for Bolivar on this night as to not create any commotion.
Before the game, there were fireworks which I assume were fired because it was the first match of the year between these two teams. The stadium seemed pretty divided. Blue and White on one side and Black and Yellow on the other. The fans come prepared with their own instruments, flags, and anything else they need to make noise. I definitely have not been in any stadium with as many people as were present this night. Finally, the game started and we settled into our nice concrete seats to watch the game. The first few minutes were goalless but
finally Bolivar had the ball in the Strongest end and one of their players kicked the ball past the goalie and right through the net. This caused quite a bit of commotion as the other team was saying that it didn't go in the net. For some reason, I was taking a video of the game when this happened and I can tell you that it did go in!
Bolivar 1 - Strongest 0. I am not going to say that this was the best soccer I had ever seen, but it was entertaining, especially watching the acting going on on the field when someone was tripped or hit hard. They weren't very good actors, but definitely a good laugh. Half time and Bolivar had the lead. The fans were going crazy in the stands! It feels strange when a concrete stadium begins to shake due to the fans jumping up and down.
It was half time and one of my friends wanted to find a hot dog. That idea was shot down as they don't seem to serve hot dogs at the games here. The serve pork sandwiches and choripan (chorizo - sausage, pan - bread ), so
we picked up a few of these. Why I keep eating this food, I don't know, because even though it looks really good, if anything is going to make me sick, it is going to be this kind of food.
Second half and now the fans were really getting into the game, in a much more negative way. The fans were shooting roman candles and fireworks right onto the field, so going on within metres of the goalies at either end. Do these people have any sense about the damage or injuries that these cause. A few went off with both goalies going down and out came the police to monitor the crowd for the rest of the game. Midway through the second half, Strongest tied up the game. This didn't help calm down the fans either on either side. Finally, the game ended in a tie with no one seriously injured from any of the devices exploding on the field.
Bolivar 1 - Strongest 1. We sat around for a while for the stadium to clear out to not be stuck in the inevitable rush to get out of the stadium and start celebrating in the streets.
What a game that was and I can definitely say that I would go and see another game anytime just to feel the energy of the crowd again. Next game would be Sunday and the same teams would be matching up. I wonder what will be the outcome of that game.
Unfortunately, after the game, we found out that a woman was trampled to death and many people were injured when they forced a door down to get into the stadium. The part of the stadium where these people were flowing into was right across from us, and none of us could understand why there was a mass of people filling up this section at the final moments before the game started. Unbelievable that these things really do happen!
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David from La Paz
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are you Bolivar or Strongest fan?
Hi Patrick, I've been following your blog, and I really enjoy reading it! I also like that you're havong a good time in my country, specially in my beautiful La Paz where I live. Kind regards! David P.S.: answer me! Bolivar or Strongest?