Boca

I went to my first Argentine futbol game. It was Boca Juniors at home, but -- dare I say? -- I haven't decided if I'm a Boca or a River fan (extreme rivals here in Buenos Aires)! Shhhhh! Either you're a fan of one OR the other. And after seven months (!) it's high time I decide for myself which side I'm on.

This is where we bought tickets from a scalper.


Once inside, we were really feeling the spirit. The crowd was loud, there was a fan band somewhere in the stands, and the music and chanting did not stop the ENTIRE game!







It was beautiful and sunny, so Neil took his shirt off, which I think is totally hott, but perhaps even the less-than-high-class (public urination EVERYWHERE) fans around us thought it was exceptionally white trash. No matter.



My neighbor to the right was enjoying rolling his own little something-something ...



... and then, I kid you not, I looked at the jumbotron and saw what time it was ... (16:20, hint, they use military time here).

Side note, it was 20 Celsius, which is 68 Fahrenheit. Pretty nice weather.

My doobie-rolling neighbor was redeemingly sporting the hat I featured at the top of this post. It was a Nike/Boca Juniors hat, and I guess the Boca fan slogan is "Cada dia te quiero mas." It translates to "Every day I love you more," which, apart from declaring Boca fans' loyalty, just sounds so cute.

Unfortunately, Boca tied 2-2. Or perhaps fortunately, as no fights were spawned as a result.

Although, interestingly, you have to wait until the visiting fans have ENTIRELY cleared out of their designated, separate section before you can leave, which took about half an hour. They don't want to risk mixing the fans and the chance of any fights erupting.

All in all, a lovely day to be outside. And we didn't even get mugged, robbed or raped on our way out of La Boca, a notoriously SKETCHy neighborhood.