soccer

Whoa. Soccer is huge in this country! Every foreigner living in Brazil needs to at least once attend a top league professional soccer game here. I couldn't believe that we were sitting in the stands 2 hours before the game and everyone was already going hoarse from yelling. I felt like I was in the middle of total, unrestrained revelry once the game got underway. People were stepping on each other, smokers were blowing smoke in our faces, and everything imaginable was being yelled at whoever happened to be down on the field. Right before the game started, whistles were thrown into the crowd so that we could make even more noise. My ears are still ringing! I kept thinking, "Oh boy, I can't start losing my hearing now. I still have to learn a tribal language! How am I going to learn the tribal language without any hearing?" It was a good time with friends from our local church here in Vianópolis, though, and an excellent peak into a big part of Brazilian culture.

Check out the video below to get a little taste of soccer mania in Brazil!