You speak a little Spanish and wanna hang with the big boys of South America? I suggest reading Futbol y Asociados, who focus on Ecuador but pretty much cover the whole continent. Alejo dug up a pretty delicious tale of government corruption, futbol, and fan hassling, all revolving around one national id card…
Basically, in many Latin American countries, once folks hit the age of 16 your ma or pa takes you to the civil registry and you get your national id card – kinda like a social security card in the States, but with a picture. But sometimes things don’t work out so simply…
In the beach resort town of La Plata, Argentina, there brews a fierce rivalry between Gimnasia de La Plata and Estudiantes La Plata. Plata means silver in Spanish and refers to the ocean waters. I would have used the terms “icky” or “disgusting” instead, but hey I only spent one weekend there a few millenia ago. Maybe the water cleans up come Christmas. But yeah, fierce rivalry.
And in 2006, Estudiantes beat Gimnasia 7-0 in a goleada historica. The wounds still fester. And a young chap went to get his id card, and he wore a Gimnasia jersey – the problem? Such fashion items are expressly prohibited in official government photos. Draconian? Well, let me give you an example – one of my friends in Buenos Aires had his dad kicked out of a hospital because he smuggled in a tiny Boca Jrs. jersey and insisted in placing it on a premy baby. With that cultural context, yeah, not so draconian. Still a bit dungeonian, but necessary.
Does the upstanding government official demand a bribe or insist the individual take off his jersey for the pic? No. He allows the pic to go through. only for a special surprise to appear weeks later…
Did you catch that handwritten note? The one below the pic which says “7-0.” I wonder if that is maybe the date in Argentina time or some special code. Of course, when questioned, the authorities pointed the finger at other government agencies. And, to further complicate things, his public school refused to admit him because he presented an adulterated document.
The passion, the emotion, the hinchada, don’t you wish you were living the dream in South America? Missing class by government decree, all due to a soccer jersey and an incompetent, low-level government official?
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crazy stuff. reminds me never to wear a football shirt in South America. safer that way.
Charley I think that’s a great strategy if you are walking along a half-crowded street, but if a mob fight breaks out and you try to play “the neutral,” you will lack the advantage of the pandilla-barra brava posse.
Although I definitely covered my jersey with my jacket when traveling on buses around Buenos Aires back in the day on the way to and from games. I was always terrified…terrified some Chicago Fire fan/goon would see my KC Wizards jersey and immediately start laughing and hurt my feelings.
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