Futebol

Soccer, called Futebol (and pronounced fut-che-bol), is a huge sport here in Brazil. Every bar, restaurant, store, ferry boat -everywhere soccer games are playing on TVs. Also people play soccer anytime, anywhere, on the beach, in a desserted field, school yard or their front porch. Kids all want to grow up to be futebol stars.
Last night we went to a a very lively Futebol match. Bahia (home team) played against the team from Recife (Carmen´s hometown). The staduim wasn´t full and we could sit wherever we wanted. So of course my new friends all wanted to sit in the rowdiest section which was also right behind the net. I was a little concerned, as it was the only section that was surrounded by police; I counted 20-25, but I figured since we survived the taxi ride to the stadium luck was on our side. We tried to chant along with the other fans and slowly learned the chants and their meanings (some unrepeatable). It was mostly men at the game and almost all of them had on a Team jersey. The away team had their own section, fenced off and well protected.
When our team scored, many fans from my section suddenly ran down to the fence and at the same time, the player who scored ran over to us, with the media chasing after him, and took in the cheers for the audience. It happened so fast! I could easily see how people could get hurt. At half time, the military (about 12 people) came on the field with dogs. I thought we were going to have a half time show, but they waited until all the players left the field and then escorted the referees off the field. They also did this at the end of the game.
In the end, the other team scored and the final score was 1-1. The Bahia fans were annoyed as it was the first time they didn´t win on their home field.
We were all glad we got to take in such an exciting cultural event!