Futbol (don´t call it soccer)

A post about futbol is long overdue. I know. Give me a break.

Futbol, the official religion of Argentina (other than the state sponsored, a.k.a. tax payer funded, Catholicism), is widely celebrated and played by 100 percent of Argentine men. To have some idea: take american football fans and make them lose some weight and get in shape. Then have them play the game 3 times a week with their best buddies at the indoor american football stadium after work. That is your average Argentine male. Buenos Aires, the capital area, with 3 million people (not counting the area of the suburbs and the conurbano where the other 10 million live) has 17 soccer teams each with their own stadium! In contrast, Barcelona, a city not quite as large but an important metropolitcan center none the less, has one team and one stadium.

Hopefully every knows this already, but for those who don´t, the world cup is currently taking place in South Africa. Now, us Americans don´t really watch the world cup, or care, for the most part, about it. However, the rest of the world does, and Argentina, whose team has recently made it to the final four, is no exception. You can´t walk 3 feet in this city without seeing a newspaper with soccer on the cover, a magazine with the face of Diego "The Hand of God" Maradona, the current Argentine selection coach and best soccer player to ever walk the face of this earth (in the 70s and 80s), or a TV showing games or replays of goals. It is absolutely insane. And even more insane has to be the city when Argentina plays....

For anybody that has seen 28 Days Later and remembers the opening scene when the main character is walking through the streets of London and it is deserted completely. There is not a person to be seen. Store fronts are closed. Taxis and buses stop running. Sidewalks empty. Well, that is Buenos Aires when their team plays. The city shuts down and cafes fill up.

As Argentina advances to the quarterfinals, they face Germany this saturday, the 3rd, at 10 AM, US time. I urge everybody to watch the game. While I fear that Germany will slaughter Argentina, I am hoping for the best. And if not. Since the US is out...Spain, let´s go all the way, baby.