Porque Colo Colo es Chile

So after four and a half years in Chile, three and a half of which I have spent lots of time watching soccer games on TV, especially Colo Colo, the Chile national team, European leagues, etc., I finally stumbled upon a good opportunity to see Colo Colo en vivo. Yupi. The game was played in the Estadio Monumental at three thirty in the afternoon and was very exciting because 1) I actually saw the team live and 2) I experienced what it was like in general, how the fans were, the vendors, the 500-peso shot of coffee, etc. It was a bit overwhelming at first. I was soooo excited, because más encima Colo-Colo is my fave sports team in the world. I was super curious to see what it would be like, what would surprise me about it and I was excited to see the game LIVE. Yay.

Once upon a time I went to a hockey game in Prague and I remember the highlight was the mulled wine they sold between periods. A warm tasty beverage to combat the cool December evening. jeje I can assure you they don't sell alcohol at Colo Colo games porque quedaría la mansa cagá. The highlight of this game, apart from seeing Colo Colo play LIVE, was la garra blanca. There were no cheerleaders at the Colo Colo game. They aren't at all necessary. Instead there is a whole section of dedicated Colo Colo fans that make up the self-designated "garra blanca" (the white fighting spirit) whose motto is: "Tu muerte fue jugando. Lo nuestro será cantando." They lived up to their motto and sang the whole entire game from start to finish, taking a break only at half-time. The garra blanca has this big, loud drum to keep the beat. (I think this is typicalyof soccer fans in Chile and perhaps the Greater Latin America.) They continued playing after the game, while we filed out and headed to the car parked at a nearby mall. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have heard the garra blanca is composed mostly of flaytes, so while they give ambiance and entertain, they are best kept at a distance.

The Rangers won 3-2, BOO, but it was a pretty good game. The ref seemed a bit unfair, but it's harder to judge this live because there were no instant replays to get a better look at what happened. The funny thing was, a couple of times during the game I found myself waiting for the instant replay. Once for a possible foul and another time I wanted to see the replay of a goal. But no, this doesn't exist en vivo, duh. Perhaps I should go to live games more often. I must've overdosed on soccer games viewed on TV. The other thing I felt was missing was the roster. Claro, on TV, the commentary people say the names of the players all the time. But since Suazo and Sanchéz have moved on to other teams, I only know one of the players by memory - Sanhueza. Obviously most Colo Colo fans probably know the key players by name, so a roster is totally unnecessary, but I would have enjoyed having one. Perhaps I can check out the official website before going to the next game. Or bring a radio, like what some people do to listen to the commentary. En fin, estuvo entrete la cuestión. A ver si voy a otro más adelante.