Futbol y Football

Last Sunday rolled around and with it we celebrated our one year anniversary of making the decision to come to Ecuador. I’ll let Shannon touch more on that later but in the meantime I’ll fill you in on the rest of the week.

Arriving in Style...VIP

It’s obviously a huge American tradition to celebrate the Super Bowl. It’s less of a game and more of a cultural event and a friendly gathering. Well we weren't going to let another hemisphere have all of the fun, but before we set off for the Super Bowl party we did have to pay homage to our host country by going to a futbol game.

I hadn't been to a soccer game since we came to Ecuador. I have seen how pervasive and omnipresent the influence of soccer is in this community. My students are obsessed with it. Every commercial on tv is about it. Every storefront and restaurant represents their favorite teams and players. Yet I still hadn't partaken in any soccer myself so naturally when I was invited to the first game of the season I said yes without hesitating.

Go Deportivo Quito!

Now to be up front, soccer was never my sport of choice growing up. I had friends who played it and even a family member who wrote a book about it. Basketball, football, baseball, hockey, and basketball again were always my personal favorites and while I always had respect for soccer players and their insane athleticism I never really got into it.

After finding out we were moving to South America I watched a lot of World Cup the summer before leaving and felt relatively prepared at least from a rudimentary stand point on the most simple strategies, and on the rules. I was ready.

A group of about six of us met up on Sunday and went to the game. One among us was a local 

Ecuadorian so we let him do the talking. He told us to wait in front of the stadium a midst the swelling crowds and disappeared. He came back a few minutes later and told us to follow him past the lines and past the police barricade.

I can’t confirm this but I would say I’m about 97% sure he bribed someone, but either way we got past everything and went into a VIP area. It was fenced off from the rest of the stadium and of the crowd and we had no lines for bathrooms or food. It was great. I would say the seats were the equivalent of 50 yard line 20 rows up in a football game. The cost for being separated from the common folk and getting the Presidential treatment…$20. I could get used to this.

From our seats, we could see the whole stadium including the clear segregation of Emelec and Quito fans. They were two competing seas of human beings; one clad in the red and blue of Deportivo Quito and the other in the Navy and White of Emelec. It felt like something much bigger than a sporting event. I don't say this lightly. I grew up going to games in Philadelphia. In Philly, we take everything way too seriously. Every game is like a playoff game and if Santa dares to wear the logo of both teams participating instead of just the home team, he will be pelted with snow and batteries. This game equaled that passion and it was a meaningless game by most accounts. I loved it. I loved the passion, the intensity, and how seriously people were taking this game. The game had stakes because the fans were willing it to that place. 

Home Base for the Enemy, Emelec

The local team that happens to be a very poor team performance wise, Deportivo Quito was playing the defending league champions from Guayaquil, Emelec. We cheered our heads off, had some cervezas, sandwiches, and empanadas and had the time of our lives. The game ended in a 1-1 tie but it felt like a Deportivo Quito win due to the skill discrepancy and the expectations.  It was a great way to kick off the day.

After we went to the game, we went over to watch the Super Bowl at a friends house where we were stuffed with an even more delicious array of food and drink. We were hosted by a few friends from Seattle so we obviously rooted for the Seahawks, but we know how it all turned out.

All in all, it was a fantastic football and futbal filled day and may be the catalyst to a new yearly tradition. 

All in All Not a Bad Day