Newell's Old Boys

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This past weekend, the group and I went to a Newell's Old Boys futbol game. This was nothing like I have ever experienced before in my life. Though I was somewhat sad that my first football game couldn't be a Wolverhampton Wanderers game or a Seattle Sounders game, there really couldn't be any other better place to experience my first game, and it sure did not disappoint.

One thing that really surprised me at this game was the number of police officers they had to have to keep the peace. I knew before I came down here that Argentina took their futbol very seriously and I figured that they would have a lot of officers for at least the superclasico (the game where Newell's Old Boys play their cross town rival Rosario Central), but I did not expect the same amount of security at a regular season game.

The atmosphere was quite incredible. When the team ran out onto the field, they were greeted with screaming, confetti, chanting, and more screaming. This atmosphere continued throughout the game and intensified with every goal scored. Granted, we were sitting in the less rowdy section of the crowd and we got to feel the vibrations throughout the stadium coming from the areas where the hard-core fans were sitting, a place where I wished I was.

After the game was all over, Newell's had comfortably beat their opponents, Gymnasia, 6 - 0. After the game was over, we had to stay behind while the police escorted all of the rivals fans out of the stadium and got them on their buses home before we could leave. As we left the stadium, many people were still chanting and running around in their jerseys celebrating the win.

I am sad that, like the British Premier League on Sunday, the Argentine Premier League is ending in two weeks and I will not be able to attend another game before then. I will have to return to the United States and see if our soccer can live up to anything that I have found down here in Argentina.

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Photos

Before the Game
Picture of the U-18's playing before the game really started up.

The Group
Mis Compeneros in the AHA group.

Getting Ready
Crowd is really starting to pack in as the game gets neared to start.

Banners
Red and Black banners begin to fall from the upper decks to welcome the team onto the field.

Enter the Team
The team is welcomed by cheering and confetti.

Giant Flag
The "rowdy" section pulls down their giant Newell's flag to welcome the team and celebrate the goals.

Newell's Up 1 - 0
Newell's score their first of 6

Red Carded
Long walk of shame off the field for a player from the opposite team.

Comments

[Marysia]

AWESOME!