One More off the "Bucket List!"

We recently had the chance to witness something remarkable! It has been on our list of "Things to do" for just about as long as we have been in the country. . . . and last Saturday, January 17th, we would not be denied, nor disappointed!!

First, though, we would have to get by these guys . . .



. . . and these . . .



Is that thing loaded??!!



Nice horse . . . but why have you got a helmet and flak jacket on??



Please don't aim that thing at me!



At about this point, we were beginning to seriously question whether this was a good idea . . .



. . . but at least we weren't alone . . . . or perhaps, that was the problem!



At least this woman doesn't have riot gear on. That was comforting!



I'm sure that you've figured it out by now. We were off to our first professional football (soccer) game and the biggest question, aside from "Are we crazy?", was "Who should we cheer for?". Charlene, for some reason, felt drawn to the green and white. Those are the colours of the Valparaiso team called the Santiago Wanderers. Please don't ask me why the Santiago Wanderers are from Valparaiso! I don't know, and a brief search came up with no answers.



Somehow, I ended up wearing the green and white as well. As we live in Valparaiso, it seemed to be the logical choice, but not being a Rider fan, and given the opposition's colours, it felt weird! The little boy next to Charlene was a Wanderers fan while his grandfather cheered for the other guys. Neither of them spoke any English, but it didn't matter! Before the game, we gave the boy a Canadian Flag lapel pin, and afterward, Charlene gave him her Wanderers flag. He's now got a story to tell his pals about the Canadians he met at the game!



Before we get to the game and the hoopla surrounding it, let's have a look at the stadium. The game was held at the Estadio Sausalito in Vina del Mar and is home to Vina's club called Everton. Estadio Sausalito can hold just over 18,000 fans, but for tonight's exhibition match, there were about 13,000 on hand. I shot this prior to the main event while there was a women's game going on. You'll notice that the other side of the stadium had quite a few empty seats. It wasn't quite game time yet, and those were the expensive seats (8 - 12,000 pesos / $16 - 24 CDN).
Our side of the pitch was more crowded at (5,000 pesos) and the crowd was a mix of moderate fans from both teams. The end zones held the FANatics . . . and there were plenty of them! It was these guys that the police were watching! Those tickets were 3,000 pesos each. (Notice the sound of the crowd in this video!)



We also don't understand why the Wanderers refer to themselves as the Los Panzers! This team's identity is a mystery to us! Anyway . . . the banner says "With Honour With Valour".



This monster banner was really quite neat. The fans would occasionally unfurl it and then retract it so smoothly that it looked automated.



By now you will have seen that the Everton colours are Blue and Gold. This is why I, a Winnipeg Blue Bomber fan, got the willies from wearing green and white!



Both team's fans had their own supply of fireworks and flares and would set them off whenever the mood struck . . . warm up, goals, penalties, breaks in play . . .



The end zone fans were truly entertaining! They cheered almost nonstop for the entire game, and between the banners, songs, chants, and fireworks, the game itself seemed like a secondary attraction! Speaking of the game, let's have a look at some of the action.



These teams are part of the top league in Chile, and therefore, we were watching first rate football.



Oh . . . did I mention the periodic blazes among the fans?





At the end of regulation time, the score was 2 - 2, so that meant a shoot out. Valparaiso came out on top scoring on 3 of the 5 shots. Everton could only manage 2.

The game was fun to watch, but by far, the most interesting aspects of the experience were the fans and the security. The police presence was staggering . . . and this was an exhibition game between neighboring cities! The fans in the end zones redefined the word "fan". They were amazing, and from what we saw, well behaved. It probably helped that alcohol is not sold, or even allowed, in the stadium. In fact, the first picture of the blog is an armed security barrier where the officers were searching everyone . . . women in one line and men in the other. The security forces weren't called into action on this night but clearly, there have been games where the crowd has needed some cooling off! It has apparently happened often enough that this level of security is now standard procedure.

Upon our return to Saskatchewan, I will once again cheer for the Blue Bombers, but while wearing the green and white, I found myself wondering whether "Resistance is futile"!

From this side of the equator,
Hasta luego
Amor,
Norm and Charlene