Toma na cu Vasco!

Hi Everyone,
Mike and I went to a soccer game between Vasco de Gama and Flamengo (both home teams) at Maracanã stadium the other night. Being that soccer is the national passion, we thought it might be mighty entertaining to watch the fans...the game too, but mostly the fans.

When we got there, we sat down thinking that we were in the Vasco section since everyone was singing this song that we couldn't quite understand but ended in the word "Vasco" each time. However, Vasco got the first goal and the section went nuts so we realized we must be in the Flamengo section...so we listened closer. They were actually singing "Toma na cu Vasco!" which means literally...well, I don't want to translate it...telling the other team to drink from some part of the body you are definitely not supposed to drink from. Anyway...

Although there were fireworks, a drumband, giant flags and banner and no shortage of alcohol, the fans were suprisingly subdued. There was no one rolling down the aisles with their pants around their ankles such as I witnessed in Germany and no one was throwing big glass beer bottles at the field as Mike experienced in Ecuador. Not to say we were disappointed, just a little suprised since soccer seems to be such an emotional thing here, or at least World Cup was.

We decided to miss the rush at the end so we left so we left during the second half, which turned out to be the right decision. Later that night on the news, we saw a policeman beating a fan with a nightstick for being unruly and lots of shots of bloody people lying on the concrete. Police brutality...a part of Brazilian soccer culture I am glad I missed.


Fans and flags.


Fans and fireworks.