Cupa Mundial

What an experience to have been in BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA at the time of the Copa Mundial(WORLD CUP). Never did I realize just how much futbol could mean to an entire country, until I came here. It is seriously a way of life in Argentina. Sure, people say that about American football in the United States, but I don't think it compares. Yes, America has the Superbowl, and that is a HUGE deal. According to Wikipedia



"The day on which the Super Bowl is played is now considered a de facto American national holiday...called Super Bowl Sunday. It is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. And in most years, the Super Bowl is the most-watched American television broadcast. "(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl).

I can honestly saw I love Superbowl Sunday!I am not a huge fan of any particular team, but I love the aura of the sport. I like to watch the commercials, I like to watch my boyfriends/guyfriends/brother/dad/cousins get SO out of control excited for it, I like the junk food we eat. I also love dressing in a jersey for whatever team I've decided to cheer for and scream as the players run around the field in tight pants. Yes, all great fun, it's VERY AMERICA to me and I love it.

FIFA is a whole different world. Here is a little world cup 101 for those who may not understand...



" * The tournament takes place for one whole month. 64 total matches will be played between the dates of June 11th and July 11th, , 2010.
* The World Cup features 32 countries that have qualified through other tournaments with all other countries of the World.
* The players must play for the country where they were born or have citizenship. If players have citizenship in multiple countries, those players always play for the country where they were raised.
* The World Cup starts with the teams divided into 8 groups for round-robin action named after the first 8 letters of the alphabet.
* Teams earn three points for a win, one point for a tie. Goal differential and total goals scored are used to break ties in the standings.
* The top two teams in each group will advance to the elimination rounds.
* In the past 18 World Cups, only seven countries have won since 1930. All previous winners have qualified this year: reigning champion Italy, Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany and Uruguay"(©2010 Kidzworld).



Argentina futbol is a different story than American football, or even American soccer. The pride, honor, passion, feeling, support, hope, dedication, excitement, spirit...and the list goes on..is indescribable here. Argentina has won TWO world cups, one in 1978 and the other in 1986(the year I was born and the time of Diego Maradona). If you do not know who Maradona is or would like more information on why this date is basically engraved in EVERYTHING and is seen EVERYWHERE in Buenos Aires, please visit Wikipedia "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Maradona#1986_World_Cup"



I feel so lucky to have been here for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Although the games were being played worlds away in South Africa, I felt like I was in medias res being here in Argentina. The country took these games beyond seriously. There was an actual holiday given out by almost every company on the first game day. Two English classes that I teach were canceled, and one Spanish class was postponed until after the game. Restaurants that didn't have TV's, and shoe and clothing stores were all closed until after the games, even certain buses didn't run. It was seriously a GHOST TOWN here on game days...the streets were evacuated and the stores barren(except for fallen pieces of blue and white confetti from people's apartment windows). The hot spots to be were a.in ones own home, b.in a cafe c. at San Martin Plaza(there was a HUGE out-door movie screen and lots of tents with World cup history, information pamphlets etc). I never made it to San Martin for a game(I tried, but it was pouring rain so I hit a bar to finish watching). Strangely, the only people in the bar were elderly people and two 12 year old boys eating pizza...

That's the thing that fascinated me. In America, tailgating is the best thing about sporting events. Drinking...is the biggest part of sport fans. We Americans like to wake up EARLY to start our pregame for our perspective sports game. I have been to numerous tailgates where I got very drunk very early on...and had a hard time concentrating on the rest of the game. I am sure you have ALL been in this position a time or two. Well, it is different in Argentina. I was a little shocked and confused at the first game, but I soon caught on. We had many failed attempts at finding the hot spot with young fun fans. Our first problem was that we were looking in bars(didn't know that would be so foreign here..?). Almost every bar was either closed or empty. The cafe's on the other hand...

Cafe's are the place to be if you want the true Copa Mundial experience. This is where all the DIE-HARD fans reside. They are dressed to the nines in everything blue and white. They have funny hats, scarves, face paint, loud annoying horns, and they are all drinking Mate or coffees. Needless to say, I watched the second game in a packed cafe. It was AWESOME! Walking down the streets at half time or in between plays is also an experience in and of itself. Fans, cafe owners, construction men, you name it...have their car radios on, mini TV's in their kiosks, cell phones ringing, etc. Whenever Argentina would score I think South Africa could hear us from the streets of BA! It was incredible.

Today was a sad day however. Thankfully it was beautiful one. Seeing Argentina lose was not what we were expecting...and the looks on the players and Maradona's face were devastating. Although we lost a good game and a FABULOUS 2010 world cup, the people of Argentina kept smiling, cheering and carrying on. There is such an energy about this country, something very special about the people and their passion. I just hope that when I leave here in 4.5 weeks I take with me all that Argentina has given me. I hope to bring at least SOME of the energy, lessons, language and culture and I hope to share it with others just like Argentina has shared it with me!

VIVA ARGENTINA!