Carioca Sunshine: A National Passion

Soccer - or futebol (foo-chee-bol) - is Brazil's national passion. Rio is no exception. Futebol is huge here. There are several teams that are based in Rio, and they play both each other and teams from other places. The most famous of those teams are Flamengo and Fluminense, but there are at least two other big teams, as well. Everybody cheers for a team here - the question is not whether or not you like futebol, it's what team in particular you support. I am a flamenguista, someone who cheers for Flamengo. I chose them because their name sounds like "flamingo" (though that isn't the Portuguese word for it) and I like their team colors, red and black. They're similar to my university's colors. As you can see, I'm a very devoted fan. That's not entirely on purpose; if I had access to TV, I wouldn't mind watching their games, but since I don't, there isn't much I can do.

Even though I don't have TV access, I can still tell when it's game day. Lots of people wear team jerseys, and every once in awhile there will be someone walking down a sidewalk waving a huge team flag. Since apartments are so open here, I can hear whenever anything important happens during the game because people in the surrounding apartments cheer. Recently Flamengo won an important game, and it seemed like the whole neighborhood was cheering. I think it's really cool the way watching a game becomes something of a community event. Instead of being shut away and isolated in an airtight apartment or house, Gávea residents can rejoice with everyone around them without ever stepping out their door.

Fittingly, Rio's futebol stadium, Maracanã, is a Carioca pride and joy. It's the biggest futebol stadium in South America, and nobody's about to let you forget it. There are signs throughout the city that feature a picture of Maracanã and the phrase "Maraca [I have no idea where the last syllable went] - how beautiful it is." As far as stadiums go, I guess I would agree that it is indeed aesthetically pleasing. It's a perfect circle, so it looks cool from the air. It is to be the site of the 2014 World Cup, and preparations are already being made.

A visit to Maracanã is on the Must Do List for every visitor in Rio, but until last week I'd never made it there for a game. However, some of my friends were going and invited me along, so I jumped at the opportunity. The game was between Fluminense, one of the super-popular Rio teams, and Corinthians, a team from São Paulo for which Ronaldo (one of Brazil's most famous futebol players) plays.

The stands at Maracanã are divided into three sections: a section for each team where the most loyal fans stand, and then a neutral section where anyone can stand. During really important games, a person isn't allowed into the rival team's section if he or she is wearing the opposing team's jersey. Though Brazilian fans are fairly well-behaved compared to world standards, that measure is in place to prevent possible confrontations. My friends and I stood in the neutral section, with Fluminense and Corinthians fans standing side by side around us.

I liked the energy and excitement of the game. I once watched part of a soccer game at my high school, but I found it boring because nobody was cheering. That was definitely not the case at Maracanã. The fans were enthusiastically engrossed in the game, swimming in a sea of red and green (Fluminense) or black and white (Corinthians). In addition to normal jerseys, for some reason winter hats in team colors seemed to be very popular, and I even saw a couple women in green pants or leggings. That's dedication.

The entire game was played to the steady rhythm of drums. From what I could tell, the drums were being played in the Corinthians fan section. There's nothing that announces a group is on the warpath quite like the sound of a drum. College football games are of course accompanied by a marching band, complete with a drumline, but I liked the rawness of the exposed percussion. It added a fierce, electric charge to the air and kept the energy level high.

Flags and banners were popular demonstrations of support, as well. Throughout the game I could see Fluminense fans waving large flags in the stands, and at one point, two Corinthians fans walked along the pathway near the field carrying two huge banners. A huge flag was also unfurled across an entire section of Corinthians fans. Corinthians may have been from six hours away, but they definitely were not lacking for support in Rio.

I took this photo leaving Rio last summer, and discovered Maracanã is visible near the top