How Colombians do World Cup

Celebrating a goal over Ivory Coast in the main square of San Gil

After defeating Greece 3-0 and a closer win over the Ivory Coast at 2-1, Colombia gears up today to play Japan.  In Colombia, “gearing up” means…

• Crowding into bars or public squares to watch on the big screen
  


• Stocking up on flour & shaving foam – this whiter version of tarring and feathering is a common way to celebrate matches
  


• Getting some practice with your vuvuzela – start blowing the crap out of this annoying plastic horn as soon as you’re out of bed, and don’t stop until after you’ve gone to sleep
  


• Figuring out how to sneak some alcohol – an alcohol ban is in place in major Colombian cities for this and the last game, after fans celebrated their win over Greece by having something like three thousand street fights in Bogota alone.
  


• Putting together an emergency exit plan, in case the “passionate” fans get out of hand. 
  

Passionate Colombian World Cup Fans

As in most of South America, football fans are passionate, to say the least.  This World Cup is especially important, since the last time Colombia qualified was sixteen years ago.  A few excerpts from the news which illustrate this insane passion:

• At least nine dead, over a hundred injured in Bogota after numerous fistfights, stabbings and gunfights took place in celebration of Colombia’s 3-0 win over Greece.  Yes, their win.  I’d hate to be around if they lose.  This was the event that spurred the dry laws in place for following matches.
• After a 5-0 victory over Argentina in the ‘94 World Cup, 76 people were killed and 912 injured in the celebrations.
• Again in the ‘94 World Cup, Colombian defender Andrés Escobar was murdered in his hometown of Medellin after scoring a crucial goal on his own net.  Alright, maybe I can understand this one…

Viva Colombia!

We’ll be watching today’s game on the big screen set up in the main plaza of San Gil, a relatively quiet town about 300 km North of Bogota. We don’t expect anything too crazy here, especially with the alcohol ban in effect.  If it looks like they’re going to lose, though, we might decide to retreat to the hostel to watch the rest…  Viva Colombia!!

~Mandrew

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