Here in Santiago there are three big names in futbol. Universidad de Chile, also known as el ‘U’, Colo Colo and Universidad Catolica. Despite their names the teams are not affiliated with the universities here in Santiago and not made up of student athletes but of Chilean soccer players. Though Catolica fans may argue, Colo Colo and U are the biggest rivalry in the city. The fans are not known to get AS crazy as the fans in say Brazil or Argentina… but tourists are still warned of the dangers of attending the games, at least in the seats located directly behind the goals.
The team logos for 'U', Catolica and Colo Colo.
The other week, while Henry was pecking away at his keyboard working on writing samples for his Arch Daily position, I went with a few people from school to a futbol game. We went to the Northern part of the city where Universidad Catolica played Union Espanola at Espanola’s stadium. Diego, The teacher that took us to the game was a diehard Catolica fan- so we sat amongst some of their most excited fans.
But the Catolica vs. Espanola game I attended was very safe despite the razor wire along the fences, the carabineros (police) in bulletproof vests and the large gates that separated the opposing fans on the East side of the stadium. These are all normal precautionary measures.
Here are just a few of the Carabineros that were in our section. The large black fence separating the fans from the field prevents angry fans from throwing things(typically soda bottle filled with urine) at the players and referees.
In this photo you can see the white gates put up in between the two sections of fans. There were also carabineros located every few rows to maintain the 'peace'. In the foreground you can see the razor wire along the top of the fence to keep fans from climbing up and over.
The first half proved to be rather uneventful but at the start of the second half Espanola scored and put the surrounding Catolica fans in the worst of moods. The teams then started to pick up and Catolica matched Espanola’s goal. Catolica then scored a second time and lead 2-1 until last few minutes of the game when Espanola made a goal to end the game in a tie. The second half was incredibly entertaining by both the play on the field as well as the fans in the stands.
A young Catolica fan.
Espanola fans. Though they were the home team they didn't have nearly as many fans as Catolica.
After the game is over the home team fans are ‘released’ first while the away fans have to wait 20-30 minutes in the stands for the Carabineros to clear the streets of opposing fans to avoid any fights. Then they allowed us Catolica fans out of the stadium.
We hope to soon attend another game that Henry can come to and following that- he will be able to give you a much better summary of stats well beyond just the score.
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