Golasoooooo

A few nights ago I was fortunate to experience a World Cup qualifier futbol (soccer) game at Estadio Nacional in Santiago where Chile played host to Bolivia. For those of you who have not experienced the "beautiful game" at the highest level outside of the United States, you must include that on your destination list. Knowledge of futbol doesn't matter, albeit the game is fairly simple with 11 men on each team trying to kick a ball into the opponent's goal. It is the experience that withstands time. Stadiums vary depending on the country you are in however you can be sure that you will be standing for the better part of 90 minutes. In my case, the stadium held a capacity of 65,000 fans, and with the exception of a few empty Bolivian seats, the stadium was packed with Chilenos cheering on their national team as they tried to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.

As the Bolivians entered the pitch (field), the crowd chanted garavatos "curses" in unison, as if to say that a simple "BOOO" just wasn't enough. The entire crowd stood up pouring their hearts and cheering their throats out for the national anthem. Every few seconds a portion of the stadium would initiate a rhythmic chant, one of many songs associated and culturally customized to the team and sang in the national language of the country, and within seconds the rest of the stadium would pick up the tune and start singing along. Between words, you could hear the echo of the previous verse bounce off Santiago's metropolis. Between songs, peanut and ice cream vendors inter-weaved through the crowds yelling "mani, mani" (peanuts, peanuts). Then it happened; Chile broke loose at the end of the first half with an aggressive attack, a brilliant cross terminating in a perfectly placed header. GOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLAAAAAASOOOOOOOO. The noise was deafening (my ears are still ringing today after 3 days). Fans jumped to avoid getting trampled yet in that moment, getting trampled wasn't a bad thing because you knew the guy next to you would lift you up. The Galleria section where the students and the more rambunctious sit, lit flares and fireworks. My eyes followed one of these rockets that lifted into the air and as the bright red pulp lit the clear night sky, I closed them; only to listen the rhythmic beats of the sensation, the universal language of passion, loyalty and love. I opened my eyes to see the red ball of fire nearing my head without a breeze to blow it away.

Chile won the game 4-0 sparking an endless night of festivities. After 12 years, Chile will be represented in the World Cup in South Africa playing the "World's Game" . Woven by the passion of each and every Chileno, La Roja will make the ball dance to the rhythmic chants of the crowd. A similar story will be told for each of the 31 participating countries. Win or loose, one thing for certain will be the pride and passion of the supporters exemplifying futbol's power to unite. Perhaps one day Eyes On Campus will in a small way have a similar effect, uniting the student community to showcase their passion and pride for their campus.

P.S. The breeze did finally come just in time to drift away the red ball of fire, probably onto someone else's head.