Destroying Temples to Football - World Cup edition

In the rush to suck money out of supporters, many of the world's historic stadiums have been remodelled or rebuilt to create greater "amenities" and "improve the game day experience". Also know as the ability to raise ticket prices and place greater control over what happens within the stadium. Such remodelling often comes at the expense of the work-class culture that has made football an international spectator sport in the first place. Two of the most notable examples are the rebuilt Wembley Stadium and the destruction of Arsenal's Highbury, replaced with the the corporately named Emirates. Both stadiums are equipped with luxury boxes and all-seater configuration, designed to maximize seated viewing angles. Seated because charging higher prices for seats is easier; currently Arsenal are among the highest priced tickets in the Premier League.

In Brazil, in preparation for the 2014 World Cup, one of the most historic stadiums has been all but destroyed for the demands of the modern corporate game. The Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro is considered a temple to the game, having hosted the biggest match in history: the historic 1950 World Cup final match between Brazil and Uruguay. In front of 200 000 plus national supporters, Brazil, needing only to tie, lost to Uruguay 1-2 after second half goals by Schiaffino and Ghiggia. The Maracanazo, as the match is remembered, is etched into the footballing memory and undoubably has been shown over and over again in the lead up to 2014.

Brazil has taken the risk of once again hosting the final match in the Maracanã, hoping a second time will bring national glory instead of national shame. By after successive remodelling has diminished the Maracanã from a stadium for 150 000+, to recent years less than 90 000, the historic stadium has finally met its ultimate destructive face-lift. Similar to a person after repeated plastic surgery, what is being built will only resemble the original Maracanã in only the most freakish of manners.

In an article about the overall assault on the working poor of Brazil that FIFA's world cup is bringing, Raúl Zibechi relates on the symbolic destruction of the Maracanã:

In reality, the stadium was gutted and only the shell remains- a shell considered to be national patrimony. The reconstruction will be handled by private interests, cost billions of reales (at least 600 million dollars), and will have even less seating that will only get more and more expensive.

The original Maracanã was designed for the 1950s World Cup and became the inspiration of other monumental stadiums in Brazi: Morumbi in São Paulo and Mineirão in Belo Horizonte. Maracanã's circular shape with slowly sloping terraces is designed to give maximum capacity to the standing masses; admittedly sight lines from the individualized seats were horrible. It is the lack of 'quality' for the individual seat purchaser that drives FIFA demands for "modern" stadia, in order to drive up the ticket prices and financial benefit for the international organization.

In order to carryout the remodelling of the Maracanã, the stadium has been completely gutted:

Gone are the circular stands, to be replaced by more oval shaped - straightened for the side-lines - all-seater terraces with steeper angles enabled by a lowered pitch. The emblematic roof is also being modified to cover the oval shaped stands. No doubt the spectator 'experience', from the perspective of the individual seat purchaser will be greatly improved.

What is being cut out and thrown away, beside the architectural history of populist architecture, is the possibility for creating the working-class stadium experience, which made such stadiums temples to football. Large sections of many South American stadium are left to 'general admission' terraces because such spaces enable the 'mass' experience; the spatial organization of a stadium directly affects the possibilities of the emotional experience. A individualized numbered seat creates an individualized numbered experience; the price of that seat transforms the culture from participant to paying customer.

Specific stadiums can be considered temples to football because of their ability to be part of the ritualistic production of collectively-shared devotion; transforming these spaces transforms the meaning and significance of that collective experience.

As an aside, a good academic perspective on the stadiums of Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro is written by Chris Gaffney, "Temples of Earthbound Gods".

Advertising North American 'hinchadas' and the 'mass'

Fall-time, temperature is dropping, at least from the perspective of the otherside of the world and the Major League Soccer excitement is building. I try to keep up with Toronto FC and everything that is going on with supporter culture in the MLS - Canadian Soccer News is a top-quality resource. It is an interesting experience filtered through the football culture of Argentina. Obviously there is no point in forcing a comparison - everything from the history of the leagues to the social, political and economic basis of the supporters is different. Nevertheless how to the 'hinchada' is presented through the media does deserve some reflection.

My interest stems from the early years of TFC advertising. As an example, this commercial from 2008:


The commercial presents a 'primitive' characterization of the soccer fan, obviously attempting to create an appealing image to draw in supporters. This commercial, as can be seen in the comments on youtube, is controversial; and I'm sure there was a lot of discussion on the TFC supporters forums when it came out. Here are a few topics worthy of discussion: First, it is far from the 'reality' of BMO field (few show up painted, no one shows up with torn shirts, and there is no smoke). Second, the 'intensity' and 'passion' communicated through the 'primitive' imagery is associated to the "romantic savage" in North American/European imaginations. Third, the individualism of the image over-top of the masses.

From a comparative perspective, an Argentine hincha is negatively labelled a 'savage' (particularly for the potential to turn passion into violence). In looking at youtube videos and reading comments all over the internet, particularly of San Lorenzo, there is very little emphasis on the 'hincha' and a lot on the 'hinchada'. The most popular videos show very little of the individual and are wide shots of the moving ocean of thousands of people jumping or waving their hands.

This year will be NBC Sports first year hosting MLS matches and they have started their advertising campaign:

Others have commented on how it only shows supporters sections and not one image of actual soccer. Not only does it not show soccer, but outside of a few flashes of an image, it does not show the individual. The majority is the 'mass': scarves held high en-mass, indistinguishable hands thrown into the air, and the 'bounce' of supporters physically unified by their collective embrace to the soundscape of thousands together singing the national anthem of the United States. The Star Spangled Banner, for me, is one of the most individualizing national anthems - no other country invites solo interpretation of their anthem as much as the US (recognizing that it is not uncommonly sung by thousands in stadiums). Not here.

No doubt from the perspective of the 'populares' of an Argentine stadium, I believe there is an attractive experience in being able to dissolve your individuality into the hinchada. Emotions flow faster and more intensely. The weekly release is available at the stadium. Win or lose the shared experience through the mass produces elation and ecstasy, justified anger, or unconditional belonging and support. All emotions, which at their peak, at intoxicating. But impossible if they were not shared.

An interesting question is whether it is the 'idea' of soccer, or something happening in the US, which makes this media image appealing to advertisers. Soccer in the North America draws a lot from its international cultures. From hooliganism to European ultras and South American hinchadas, soccer is a 'mass' spectator sport (even if NASCAR and American football draw more masses). But then, maybe there is also a desire to be apart of a 'mass' right now in the US and advertisers are picking up on this?

Organized supporters sections in the MLS have been at the forefront of creating the stadium experience, most notably with TFC, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, and Philadelphia Union. Most teams in MLS now have organized supporters. It is without a doubt that, while soccer culture from outside has been useful to these groups, there are creating their own culture and their ability to 'create' the experience has been an advertising boon for the league. The relationship between the media image and the reality of supporters is just beginning in North America and something worth paying attention to, if Argentina is an example.

I'm behind on topics - I have three matches to update from the past week: San Lorenzo's home opener against Estudiantes (ruin the suspense 1-1), Peñarol vs Nacional of Colombia (disaster in Montevideo!), and Argentinos Juniors vs the visiting San Lorenzo this last Saturday (I can now say I've seen el ciclón win; if you were in Paternal and didn't know better you'd think it was a cup final for San Lorenzo). Plus the murgas of Montevideo - spectacular. All of this is coming in the coming days, in some form or another.

8 de Marzo - the Day the Hinchas Play

SanLorenzoTV, a supporter made youtube channel/website, and the Cuervos de Poe have put together a 'commercial' for the March 8th march supporting the 'vuelta a Boedo' - return to Boedo.


As if out of classic western, the fight against injustice is put forth:
"Their stadium was robbed" / "They swore to not stop till they won it back"

San Lorenzo lost their stadium in 1979 during some shady political business during the military dictatorship in Argentina; it has been long standing grievance for hinchas and in the recent years they have organized a social and political campaign to regain the property. Right now, a Carrefour shopping store, similar to a Wal-Mart, is under partial reconstruction where the "Gasómetro" once stood. Images of the old stadium define the historical memory of the club in its neighbourhood home of Boedo, the "historical restitution" of the "holy land" to San Lorenzo is also called "the return to Boedo".

Several marches have been organized in the past year or so to put pressure on the current city government to pass the law and figure out a way of returning the property to San Lorenzo. Starting at a few thousand, the second march in May last year was attended by 20 000 people and then 40 000 in June. Last December, more than 7000 people showed up to deliver a letter to the French embassador, outlining the case against the French company Carrefour. Ultimately, hinchas would like to construct a modern stadium on the Avenida La Plata.

On March 8th, another march is being organized by supporters. Advertising is sprinkled throughout the city and around the world - around 80 buses advertise the date, stickers and posters have been glued up, the date has been sprayed onto walls, and banners have been painted and displayed along highways, in towns in the provinces and as far away as Paris and Barcelona. Tables have been organized for the proceeding two weeks in the city centre and in Boedo to get information about the proposed law and campaign. Organizers are calling for 100 000 people.

No fight against injustice is complete without its heroes. The commercial stars some of the most recognizable 'characters' of San Lorenzo's hinchada, including the unstoppable "gordo ventilador" (the big fan), legendary 1970s player "el Sapo" (the frog) Villar, and members of the "Los Chiflados" murga. The rest of the captions read: "There is no flu / ...work... /... or exam that can stop us" "the return is supported by the people" "rise up 'cuervos' and occupy the Plaza de Mayo" "On March 8th, the supporters will play" ... "our faith moves supermarkets".

A work of (political) art.

All Boys v. Colon de Santa Fe

Last Saturday I went to the Estadio Islas Malvinas, to watch CA All Boys (pronounced Al-bo by local supporters) play against Colon de Santa Fe. All Boys was founded 99 years ago in the barrio of Floresta and to this day continues to be one of the many small, but locally supported clubs in Buenos Aires. Most of the supporters live within walking distance of the stadium, which is built within the heart of the residential neighbourhood. Standing in the popular section, on the edge, many of the supporters where fathers with their children, couples, and older men; a 'family' crowd and as some of the supporters told me, "un club muy tranquilo".

Nevertheless All Boys has a fair sized and dedicated hinchada called "La Peste Blanca" (the white plague) known for the creativity of their songs. Unfortunately, standing to the far side of the hinchada, I missed out on most of their energy. The Estadio Islas Malvinas does not have a local popular behind the goal instead the banda plays close to centre-half, which means that their sound and energy doesn't really fill the whole stadium. The few hundred Colon supporters could often be heard from behind the goal, despite the continuous singing of the This video shows the hinchada before All Boy's promotion into the Primera:


The match began as a openly physical -not necessarily typical of the Argentine league- back and forth match, with All Boys providing most of the offence. Colon made its chances on the counter attack. For the most part the referee made few interruptions in the play, allowing 50-50 balls to be played with bodily contact and ignoring most of the theatrical calls for fouls that dominates a lot of Argentine matches.

Juan Carlos Ferreyra benefited from a mess in front of the goal, making the half-turn volley to put All Boys up 1 - nil. Ferreyra ran towards the corner stand and we had a little fiesta. Thankfully for the match All Boys kept the pressure up and the back-and-forth flow continued... until the referee decided to make his own intervention: a red to Morel from All Boys.

I've not had a chance to review the foul but in the moment a red felt to be an over-reaction. That is from a neutral perspective. You can imagine how the local supporters reacted. The referee was instantly renamed "hijo de puta". Luckily the expulsion was close to half-time and All Boys regrouped in the dressing room.

They must have, because they put on an organized defensive show for 45 minutes. Having become accustomed to San Lorenzo's defensive collapses, I expected to see at least one goal, but through luck and hard-work All Boys kept the sheet clean. Without too much help from the referee, at least in the opinion of the local supporters, who became increasingly hostile to each call.

Emotional tension peaked by the middle of the second half when the linesman on the far side suddenly fell and curled up on the ground. Intimidating the players? From the reaction within the stands, it was obvious something had been tossed from the balconies and hit the referee. Pretty stupid of the local fan, All Boys was winning 1-0 and while their team was under a lot of pressure they were managing to hold the line. Many locals shared this opinion. A scuffle (kerfuffle?) broke out within the sparsely populated upper tribuna. The referees moved into the middle of the field and Albo players chastised the fans. Matches are often suspended for items thrown onto the field in Argentina, thankfully cooler heads prevailed, a full out brawl was averted by -I'm guessing- the removal of the offending party (and his friends) and the overall "tranquility" of the All Boys supporters. After four or five minutes the match resumed.

Maybe the silver lining was a quick rest for the All Boys, who continued to play a man down. Colon themselves warn-out were getting sloppy against the counter attack. Rodríguez lifted the tension with a goal at the 51st minute, meaning the extra-time was spent as a little party.

The result was bad news for San Lorenzo who are fighting against All Boys in the ascenso. Earlier on Friday, Olimpo, another team in the bottom won 4-1 over Belgrano.

After the match, we waited for the visitors to leave before they opened the doors and the hinchada of All Boys dispersed - relatively quietly - into the surrounding neighbourhood.

Rangers FC's Canadian Connection

Everyone in the (English speaking) football world has likely heard of the historic announcement that Rangers FC has gone into administration. I know very little about the economy of Scottish football and situation of Rangers FC; but it is a storied club and one of the most famous in the world. Such a story draws attention.

Growing up in Burlington playing recreational soccer, it was hard to avoid mention of Rangers FC. BYSC had its fair-share of Scottish descendents and one of my coaches was a fanatic. Coincidentally, it was the same coach who provided me with my favourite football mantra, to be yelled with the necessary Scottish growl, "GOOO FUR GOALS!" It was his 'tactical advice' to any player on our team who happened to have the ball at their feet in the final third.

Myself, with nothing against my youth coach, chose to align myself in "The Old Firm" with the boys in green and white. My allegiance had more to do with my 'local pub' - it was the fish and chips and not beer and conversations with 'the regulars' - Tommy O'Toole's (or dolittles, memories fade). An Irish pub, which was a small foothold, till it closed, for supporters of Celtic FC. Such is the rationality of how I pick my teams.

Interest in Rangers FC has also led to random searching into the club's history, such as this find by the Guardian blog, a video from the 1930 tour of Rangers FC in Canada:


Toronto Ulster United playing Rangers FC at May 21, 1930 at Ulster Stadium in Toronto, Ontario.

It is interesting  to see that Canada was at one point a small, but notable stop for international clubs. On this particular tour, Rangers played 8 games in Canada and 6 in the US. Playing in front of between 8000 and 10 000 Canadian fans, the match between Toronto Ulster United and Rangers ended 3 - 4 for the visitors, a respectable result against a team whom had recently dominated the Scottish championship. Ulster United, recognized by the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame, had won the Canadian championship in 1925 (going on to win in '46 and '51), as well the Ontario Cup in 1927 and 1929. Their home grounds, Ulster Stadium was a "soccer specific stadium" before the MLS invented the term decades later.

Coincidentally, the news of Rangers FC's administration comes at the same time that international 'football' is beginning its revival in Canada. In 1963, Toronto Ulster United folded. Of course there was the professional NASL, with its high priced superstars and crazy rules for a brief period in the 1970s. This year, however, after five financially successful - if relatively unsuccessful years on the pitch - Toronto FC is going to be joined by 'neighbouring' Montreal Impact (measurable distances are relative in the football world) this year. Vancouver Whitecaps joined last year. Soccer specific stadiums have been built in both Toronto and Montreal. Major League Soccer still lags behind the competitive level of the Scottish Premier League's top clubs, the financial parity, size of potential markets, and increasing revenues of the MLS will likely allow the Canadian clubs surpass on-the-pitch quality of the SPL in the near future. Such a fall and rise of Canadian soccer probably was not on the minds of the Ulster players in 1930 when they went ahead of the Scottish giants 2-1 in the second half, nor to the near 10 000 who packed Ulster Stadium. The match was a celebration of Scottish (protestant) heritage and of the growing globalization of the beautiful game.

An Argentine definition of "sufrir"

The hinchada of San Lorenzo, along with Racing de Avellaneda, is broadly known for its suffering. Last night San Lorenzo lost 4-1 in a 30 minute defensive disaster.

Here is the response (you can hear San Lorenzo's goal, but it wasn't what mattered):


Unlike in English, in Argentina to recognize someone's 'suffering' is not to see only their problems; it is also to recognize their willingness to struggle against those problems.

Los Matadores vs. Granate

Tonight, San Lorenzo begins its campaign to stay in Argentina's Primera A visiting "La Fortaleza" of Club Atlético Lanús (pronounced La-noo by locals), a team to the south of Buenos Aires. The match gets underway at 9:15pm.

In the Torneo Apertura 2011, Lanús finished 6th with 29 points; 10 more than 17th placed San Lorenzo. They are also playing in the Libertadores 2012, finishing the 3rd best Argentine team in 2011 (clausura and apertura combined) behind Boca Juniors and Vélez Sarsfield. A tough opponent to start a do-or-go to the "B" campaign for the Cuervos de Boedo.

I've never been to Lanús, it is always an adventure going to somewhere 'new' in the city. I'll be travelling with organized buses (micros), so hopefully I wont end up lost. My ignorance of Lanús extends onto the local hinchada; I have very few expectations - positive or negative - for the reception by the Granates (the Maroons) of Lanús. I know that their 'clásico' is with nearby Banfield and that while not considered a 'grande' Lanús is a fairly consistent and well supported team. Moreover, any chance to defeat one of the 'grandes' of Argentine football and send them further down the promoción is an opportunity relished by every hincha.

San Lorenzo has had a less than compelling summer-break. No wins and only a few goals in the summer friendlies have made a dark situation worse; one life-time hincha today told me he cannot bare to watch the match on television, let alone be in the stadium. His heart cannot take the stress. Unable to attract a single of the so-called big-name potentials to the club, reinforcements have been thin: Carlos Bueno, coming from Mendoza, as of today, being the only new Cuervo. There is talk that Cristian Chávez, who has debatable merits, is returning to the Azulgrana after a failed tenure in Napoli, but will definitely not be able to suit up tonight.

Off the pitch financial troubles have been major distractions: delayed payments to Argentinos Junoirs for the services of central midfielder Néstor Ortigoza led to the threat to suspend all transfer activities in-and-out of CASLA. Coverage of the  financial troubles reached its pinnacle in the January 31st front-page Olé story, "¡Hasta las pelotas!". Reportedly San Lorenzo couldn't afford enough footballs for its youth teams. Tough times in Bajo Flores.

One bright sign, for me, is the selection of Nereo Champagne as San Lorenzo's starting keeper. Champagne appeared more composed than "El Loco" Migliore in the summer friendlies and was able, with an organized defence, to keep a few clean sheets. While San Lorenzo has to do a lot more than go nil-nil for all of its matches, reducing the stupid goals against does not hurt.

For me, talent is on the team; the question is whether the players' heads and hearts are in the game. The heart of San Lorenzo's supporters, including La Gloriosa Butteler, is unquestionable. Winning and more when losing, the hinchada supports their team. After only a few matches (all loses) in the Nuevo Gasómetro their passion has had its influence on me and I've spent the past few months longing to return.

The scene is set; it is left to see whether the players have the 'huevos' to play in the shadow of Los Matadores and save San Lorenzo from the "B". Tonight my 2012 truly begins.

Introduction - in the murga y carnaval

In the Murga y Carnaval intends to cover the Argentine football world, with an emphasis on Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, from the perspective of a Canadian ‘hincha’ in training. Hincha (pronounced een-cha) is the Argentine word for soccer/football ‘supporter’ or ‘fanatic’ and is derived from the verb hinchar, which translates literally to mean “to swell” or “to fill up”. The collective of the hinchas is known as an hinchada (een-cha-da).

The title of this blog is taken from a song sung by the hinchada of San Lorenzo:

Vengo del barrio de Boedo I come from the neighbourhood of Boedo

Barrio de murga y carnaval Neighbourhood of murga and carnaval

Te juro que en los malos momentos I swear to you in the bad times

Siempre te voy a acompañar I will always be with you

dale dale matador

dale dale matador

dale dale dale dale matador

The hinchada of San Lorenzo singing 20 Nov 2011

Matador being one of the pseudonyms of San Lorenzo, named for the 1968 Torneo Metropolitano winning team, which won the without losing a game, a first in Argentina’s professional era, and earning the name Los Matadores, “the killers” (the poetics don’t always translate).

Murgas are the typical music and dance collective that perform during the carnival celebrations in the cities of the River Plate. Murgas originated in the working-class ‘barrios’ of Montevideo and Buenos Aires as a cultural syncretism of European carnival and various forms of African percussive music. African populations brought to the Americas as slaves represented a significant portion of the Argentine population during the 18^th and 19^th century. Many Afro-Argentines settled in the neighbourhoods of Monseratt and San Telmo and interacted with working-class Argentines; by the end of the 19^th century, however, the Afro-Argentine population had significantly declined (large number of blacks died in the armies of Argentina, faced racism and lower standards of living, which led to a high mortality during the yellow fever epidemics). Murgas, epitomized by the booming rhythms of the “bombos” – large base drums, continued to be important social organizations in working class neighbourhoods throughout Buenos Aires, particularly in the south of the city, in part because of their role as social critics.

During the military dictatorship of the 1970s and 80s, the custom of using murgas as social organizations and the songs sung by murgas as a form of social critique from the lower classes led to the ban of murgas and carnaval throughout Argentina. As a result, murga, along with candombé groups, have been more recently associated to carnival across the river in Montevideo. Murgas are, however, experiencing resurgence in the barrios of Buenos Aires.

Protest, cultural inversion, and contestation are constant themes of carnivals around the world; the murga is not an exception. Following in this tradition, I wish to use this blog to highlight the cultural, social, economic, and political complexities as they flow through and out of Argentine football. Being an hincha in Argentina, and arguably everywhere in the world, is not an experience ambivalent to the struggles of power, inequality, justice, and dignity. Fandom is shaped by and speaks to the broad social context and I bring my own critical view on many issues into the discussions.

The music of the murga has long been associated with the sound of the cancha – the field and stadium. The constant rhythmic boom of the banda – the musicians of the hinchada –underscores most canciones – songs – of an Argentine hinchada. Wherever a match is being played in Argentina, the historical influence of the murga will be heard.

I am an anthropology PhD candidate at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. I am currently in the middle of my thesis research into the culture of Argentine hinchas. Most of my football time is with la gente of San Lorenzo.

Periodically this blog will contain articles written in my broken castellano.