Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Forrest Gump-ing at Barranquilla, and more

Gosh… Trying to squeeze into a below 1000 words’ blog post my memories from a dozen football games I watched in Colombia last February, feels more challenging than preparing nothing more than a tiny carry-on bag for a 45 days’ trip taking Ryanair flights (hence the need to make do with just a tiny carry-on bag, so as to avoid paying their hefty checked-baggage fee). What made me think of Ryanair in the intro of a post that has to do with “acquired in Colombia” football memories? I have two dates for you, 16 September (in two weeks from today), 31 October(…).

Talking to THE “man” at Cartagena

What sane tourists do in Cartagena, is enjoy the beauuuty that the oldest part of the city is, hit the city beaches, go on half a dozen highly rewarding day-trips to much better nearby beaches, go up and down the lively “low-budget tourist ghetto” streets right outside the walled part of the city, dive in the… seductive nightlife, generally take in the whole “holiday” atmosphere. If you’ve done (some of) that, if it’s your second time in the city, and if your obsession with football goes under the “clinical condition” category, then you go to “Jaime Morón León”, Cartagena’s biggest stadium, to watch local Real play in Colombia’s second(!) category.

No musical instruments for Real Cartagena’s “fanatics” (the few dozens standing instead of sitting), part of the punishment the club itself imposed on them for… “inappropriate behavior”

Truth be told, the game was boring. Scratch that. I meant “someone PLEASE give me a razor to cut my veins” boring, but as is ALWAYS the case, something did happen those two and a half hours I spent at the stadium, something that made the experience truly memorable. A few minutes before kick-off, a Real fan approached me (it comes with the package if you are ALL TOO OBVIOUSLY the only foreigner around), and was patient enough to answer a dozen questions of mine. Among others, he explained me exactly what the case was with Real’s fans, who had been punished by the club itself for creating all sorts of problems the season before. Two minutes after kick-off, I realized that my “Jaime Morón León”… guide, was not just “some” Real fan, but THE man among Real’s die-hard fans, he was the one who “orchestrated” the chants of the most fanatic fans, their leader(!). That explained how come he knew so much(…).

“RUN (FORREST), RUUUN”

At Barranquilla, my 16000 pesos (something less than six euros) ticket, got me TWO back-to-back games. Barranquilla-Deportes Quindío for the second category was uneventful, but I couldn’t care less, because I was finally attending a game at the “Metropolitano”, a stadium I had only seen on TV until that day. Up next, was Junior, Barranquilla’s biggest team, against Itagüí. That looked promising, only… I had to leave the stadium during half-time, literally running, having found myself in the middle of a crazy brawl between the police and Junior’s hooligans (I had bought ticket for the wrong “tribuna”). Even during the first half, being the only “gringo” around, and holding a rather big camera, I was made to feel uncomfortable, so when stones started flying during half-time, finding myself exactly in the middle of that chaos, a little Forrest Gump voice in my head yelled that the best I could do was “RUN (FORREST), RUUUN”…

Junior’s “porristas” just before kick-off, when everything at the “Metropolitano” of Barranquilla was still nice and peaceful

Wrong word at the wrong place

At Medellín, I almost got myself in trouble again, by instinctively shouting “GOAL!” early in the second half of Atlético Nacional-Newell's Old Boys. “What’s wrong with shouting GOAL in the middle of an Atlético Nacional home game”, you wonder? Nothing, unlessssss… you’re shouting for a goal of the visiting team (I like Newell’s, what can I say? I should have known better), watching the game in the middle of a PACKED stand, full of Atlético Nacional die-hard followers (what a bloody idiot, I know, I know, save it). Anyway, the goal was disallowed, the assistant ref had raised his flag, it was off-side, so after 3-4 (that felt like an eternity) awkward seconds, I said to those around me (looking at me in disbelief) “no goal. Off-side”. Next second, they were singing for their team again. Minor detail: most of them had been smoking pot for well over an hour, so I guess that kept them… relaxed and in a “cool” mood…

Atlético Nacional’s players appear on the field to face Newell’s Old Boys, and “Atanasio Girardot”… erupts

Manizzzzzzzales

At Manizales it was the first time in my life I literally fell asleep during a football game, I mean, being at a stadium, not watching a game on TV. Once Caldas-Alianza Petrolera was very interesting, full-house, the home team had an offer running, which made half the city go to the stadium and watch the game almost for free, BUT, the night before, I had taken a rather strong sleeping pill to manage to close my eyes on the bus from Medellín, and somehow the pill’s effect lasted way more hours than what I expected. During half-time I told myself “I’ll just close my eyes for a minute, no big deal”, so I put my head in my palms. Next thing I knew, 15 minutes had passed(!), Once Caldas were getting back to the field, and it was the local fans’ chants that woke me up. Embarrassing…

“People mountain, people sea”, as the Chinese would say. “Palogrande”, at Manizales, close to sold-out. Photo taken during the second half, after my embarrassing half-time… nap

Pure “fútbol bogotano” irony

At Bogotá I… hit the jackpot, by catching not one, but TWO “clásicos bogotanos” in a single week! Because of some peculiarity of the way the schedule of the Colombian championship is decided, Millonarios played against Santa Fe twice in a matter of days. Both Bogotá greats share the same stadium, Santa Fe were technically the home side in the first derby, so I turned to them for media accreditation, using my IFJ (International Federation of Journalists) card. I had arranged with a sports newspaper in my home city to write a two pages’ story about those two “clásicos”.

The amicable Press officer of Santa Fe took care of my accreditation in a matter of minutes, and he also volunteered to show me around the offices of the club, a short distance from “Campín”, the stadium, the temple of football at Bogotá. As we got chatting, he pompously said he had no doubt Santa Fe would triumph in both games. They were doing very well up until that point, Millonarios on the other hand had been miserable the previous weeks, so… it made sense. Even so, I told him local derbies like those, “have a logic of their own”, are a chance for the underdogs to draw a line, get back on track. Santa Fe’s Press officer half laughed WITH me and half laughed AT me, as if I’d said the silliest thing the silliest man could ever be silly-silly-silly enough to say. Eight days later, Millonarios had beaten Santa Fe twice(…).

February 22, the “Campín” mostly red, since Santa Fe were technically the home side. Millonarios won

After that, I’m thinking, if I ever go back to Bogotá, and I turn to Santa Fe to ask for another media accreditation, I hope they won’t remember that February 2014 visit of mine at their headquarters, and the little chat we had over “favorites” in “clásicos bogotanos”…

March 2, the “Campín” overwhelmingly blue, since Millonarios were technically the home side. Guess what… Millonarios won (again)

(Games watched between February 5 and March 2:

Real Cartagena-Valledupar 1-0, Cartagena, Colombia, 2014, February 5
Barranquilla-Deportes Quindío 2-0, Barranquilla, Colombia, 2014, February 6
Junior-Itagüí 2-0, Barranquilla, Colombia, 2014, February 6
Medellín-Santa Fe 0-2, Medellín, Colombia, 2014, February 8
Atlético Nacional-Newell's Old Boys 1-0, Medellín, Colombia, 2014, February 13
Itagüí-Fortaleza 2-1, Itagüí, Colombia, 2014, February 15
Once Caldas-Alianza Petrolera 2-1, Manizales, Colombia, 2014, February 16
Santa Fe-Millonarios 0-1, Bogotá, Colombia, 2014, February 22
Bogotá-Deportivo Pereira 1-2, Bogotá, Colombia, 2014, February 23
Millonarios-Atlético Huila 2-2, Bogotá, Colombia, 2014, February 25
Millonarios-Santa Fe 2-1, Bogotá, Colombia, 2014, March 2

Tomorrow, part 3 of my February-May 2014 South America football rambling).

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