Thursday, April 19, 2007

Playing on an island

Though it ended in a 0-0 draw, the game last night was a ton of fun. The stadium, built in the late 70s for the 1978 world cup held in Argentina, was an interesting place. It sat about 40,000 and was a typical bowl shape. There was a tiny contingent of Chilean fans who had made the hop across the Andes to cheer on their boys. The authorities were not messing around and had riot police (complete with plastic shields and batons) completeing closing off on all the sides the small section the Chileans had occupied. Occasionally the Chilean supporters would attempt to do a group chant or song and the rabid Argentenians would start whistling and making whatever noise they could to drown them out. The Argentines were in great voice and they continued to sing, chant, whistle, jump up and down, wave flags and even occasionally get into fisticuffs among themselves. The game was almost immaterial as I took in all these sights around me.

One other unique feature of this stadium was that the playing surface itself was literally on an island. A dry moat, maybe 10 feet in depth and 10 feet across, circled the entire field. I had never seen this at a sporting venue before and though it was obviously an excellent way to keep the fans off the field, there was just something about it that seemed a little disconcerting.

Tomorrow will by my final day in Mendoza, I will then take another overnight bus, this time back to Buenos Aires. Arriving in BA, I will have about 5-6 days to enjoy the city before I have to hop on a plane back home.

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