The world cup game is a serious thing in south america. It’s everywhere. On every TV screen, in every pub and every park. In Colombia, one might even say it is a life and death matter. 9 people died celebrating the win against Greece. That was reason enough for me to secretly root for Ivory Coast in the second Colombian match as I was watching it in Cali, south Colombia.
The excitement on the streets started an hour before the game. People in yellow shirts flooded the streets, drivers were honking and driving even worse than usual. The games, as games do, started with playing the Anthem. The Colombian anthem is super religious and by law is played twice a day on the radio so it’s no suprise the players seemed to know the words. I got debriefed about the right curse words to use, a special combination of ‘sonofabitch’ which could be used both in good or bad situations so I couldn’t mess it up.

Celebrating in Bogota.

In Generally I find soccer games extremely boring. Most of the time nothing happens. Instead of the TV anchor saying who’s passing the ball to whom, I wish he would say “nothing is happening, nothing is happening, ok look now something might happen… well, sorry nothing happened…” I quickly learned I could use the excitement of the crowd as an indication to get this information and know when to look up from my phone. I say excitement but I really mean mass hysteria, screaming, groaning, jumping and banging on tables. What I couldn’t seem to figure out was if the screaming was good screaming or bad screaming.

I passed the time eating and drinking with friends, Colombian style. There is a very unique social norm here that I  havn’t seen anywhere else. Whatever you eat or drink you pass around and share with friend. It doesn’t matter if it’s beer, ice cream or a hamburger, it is passed around like a joint.When Colombia scored a goal every one jumped up and began hugging but a moment later the game continued so there was no time for celebrations until the game ended. Colombia won and the TV anchor asked people to take care and not drink and drive. I doubt anyone listened. For hours later the city sounded like it was under attack. Explosions, honking and ambulances filled the streets. Well, just as long as the masses are having fun…