I’m sure you all know because you’ve seen the TV shows and movies, but soccer is HUGE here! It’s almost hard to desribe the feeling in the city when the national team plays. I live just a block from the Estadio Olimpico where the Ecuadorian soccer team plays. Right now, they’re in the midst of World Cup play offs for Brazil in a few years. Every time there’s a game, the whole city dresses up in yellow jerseys, the color of the Ecuadorian soccer team. So far, the Ecuadorian National Team has played against some other S. American teams like Venezuela and yesterday, Peru. I had to leave right after school to get to the bank before they close at 4PM. Traffic was horrible! I’d have probably gotten there faster walking….fans had been at the stadium since at least 7:15AM when I went past the stadium on my way to school! So, I took care of business at the bank and was walking home. Just walking through a stream of yellow jerseys is an amazing experience….they say that team sports really bring people together and that is certainly true in Quito! (Sure, everyone has their LOCAL team which they support and this is often a source of conflict, but when the NATIONAL team plays, you’d better bet, everyone pulls together and puts on the yellow shirt). Ecuador scored TWO goals as I was walking. Each time, I heard it first from the stadium, next from the honking horns on cars and third, everyone ran to the nearest store to crowd around a TV and see it. Pretty cool. Even though I’m not at all into soccer (or any sport for that matter!) it gave me a nice feeling of being part of something big. Next time, maybe I’ll wear the yellow!
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