There are actually several customs that I have found a bit difficult to adjust to, but I´ll just focus on one: SOCCER. That is, the custom of watching soccer until your eyes bleed.
Good grief, even my pololo pointed this out to me last night after watching Chile lose once again in soccer, this time to Ecuador. He asked me a rhetorical question, and quite a good one at that: Why, in a country with such bad soccer teams, is soccer such an incredibly popular sport?
The answer? Heck if I know. I mean, we have Colo Colo, la U, Catolica, the national team, etc etc... and which team is actually good? Sorry if it sounds like I´m completely trashing Chile´s soccer program, but I happen to be having one of those everything-about-living-here-sucks days, so I´m feeling a little edgier than usual. Now, the real problem for me is not that the teams are so bad. That´s not the reason I detest watching soccer. The real reason is that I find it incredibly boring. Fact numero 1 about me: I am a HUGE sports fan. But that does not include soccer. The sports I really really love watching with a passion are college basketball, college and NFL football, and the NHL. Short story about my obsession with college basketball: I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill (hereafter referred to as Carolina). At Carolina, basketball isn´t just another sport, it´s a passion. People eat, sleep, dream basketball. And not just the players, but the students too, myself included. So in March of my senior year at Carolina (2005), we were set to play dook (Duke) as usual, as the last game of the regular season. If you´ve ever even heard the words college basketball, you´ve heard of the Carolina-Duke rivalry. It´s always a huge game, and it´s always an amazingly fun time (unless we lose). So my senior year, I had the fortune of getting riser tickets for the game - risers are the platforms right beneath the basket where students with those tickets stand. Those are the most coveted tickets, because they´re literally right on the court. The thing is, if you´re in the back rows, it´s pretty hard to see. So, to make sure I was in one of the front rows, I camped out (along with a ton of other students) at the Dean Dome for 3 days before the game. Believe me, I would have camped out longer if I´d needed to. It worked out too - I got on the second row, and watched us beat Duke in thrilling fashion. :) Carolina went on to win the championship, my senior year!
Ok sorry, I got nostalgic for a moment. But seriously, I LOVE sports. This is why it´s frustrating for me to live in a country where I can´t just turn on ESPN or WRAL (local channel in Raleigh) and watch a Carolina basketball or football game. I´m resigned to watching soccer. And bad soccer at that. You might say, but Jessica, nobody is FORCING you to watch a soccer game. Sort of true. But where I´m living right now, my boyfriend´s brother watches literally EVERY soccer game that´s ever shown on tv. It could be Señora Rodriguez`s cuarto basico class vs. Señor Bravo´s class and he´d watch it. So it´s hard to escape.
Anyway, it seems my choices are limited here - either cultivate a love of soccer (not looking likely), or buy a slingbox so I can still watch Carolina games. I love Chile, but man... I need my college sports!
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3 comments:
I actually love soccer, just not Chilean soccer. The team is a lot better under Bielsa, but let's face it...they still suck ass.
Poor Chile! They have the youngest players of all the selecciones and they still suck. It's a mystery.
I don't like soccer either, but if there is a game on that means that Ro's dad will buy alcohol and usually I just sit around drinking bailey's!
We need to get together soon! Rodrigo started working weekends, so (we) don't party anymore, but that doesn't mean that (I) can't :P
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