Brazilian stake their soccer very seriously, watching every game their team
plays with so much enthusiasm and love that their bowls of chips have been
known to fly in tot he air when their team scores. I went to a match in Belo
Horizonte where the home team was playing their biggest rival. The stadium
is the second largest in the world, and when all 100,000 people are screaming
and shouting at once, it sounds more like a train than human beings. The
stadium was so packed you could not even sit down. There were no real seats,
anyway, just large concrete steps.
Whenever the home team was in a good position to score, insane chanting
arose from the crowd. When the rival team scored, their little section went into
an uproar with a series of unusually violent fights. When the home team
finally won after a very close game, the whole stadium started to vibrate, with
everyone jumping up and down and screaming. Afterwards, many people
drove around the city honking their horns and waving flags until two in the
morning. The Brazilians' love for soccer makes them fanatical about their
teams and their country.
Going to Brazil was one of the best experiences I could possibly have. It is one
of those countries, which, once you visit, you never forget.