Fútbol

Soccer, or fúbol, is the national sport of Argentina. The best player in the world, Lionel Messi, resides in Rosario (the same hometown as Ché Guevara). Even so, the national fútbol team remained on the brink of not winning a bid for the World Cup.

Saturday night, the much criticized Argentinian team headed by coach Maradona took the field against last place Peru. I wiggled away from my hostel filled with foreign travelers and found a dive bar where two local rugby teams huddled around the bar to catch the night´s pivotal game. After an unimpressive first half, Argentina scored to gain a 1-0 lead. But with the clock ticking down and only two minutes left, the satellite feed to the bar cut out. Everyone flocked outside to try to catch the ending celebrations on the tiny outside TV next door, but apparently the entire street´s satellites were having trouble. With 30 seconds left, the game came back on the screen, with the scoreboard now reading 1-1. Angry quilobera, hooligan, fans shouted their frustrations of both having missed the detrimental goal (thus not knowing who to blame) and having their South Africa hopes quickly dissolving, when the satellite feed cut out again. Feeling a World Cup sized defeat before the tournament even official began, the entire crowd silently stared blankly at the empty black screen. One voice broke the silence. A kid on his cell phone with a friend screams out at the top of his lungs, "PALERMO SCORED ANOTHER GOAL!" As if responding to his cry, color exploded back on the TV as an army of light blue and white celebrated on the field. The patrons of the bars now all in the streets sang out into the night when the zoomed in replay of the winning goal jumped onto the screen.

"Vamos, vamos Argentina

Vamos, vamos a ganar

Que esta banda quilobera

No te deja de alentar!"

Fútbol