As some of you are aware, starting with some friends I made in college, then growing when I was in Spain, and even more so when I was in Costa Rica, I’m a soccer fan (or football as we should call it). So, before coming to Guayaquil, I did some research of the big teams in the city and in Ecuador, and figured out who I would cheer for. It was pretty easy. The two huge teams in Guayaquil are Emelec and Barcelona (there’s on more top flight team, but it’s not a big deal). I’m a Real Madrid fan, whose arch rival in Spain is FC Barcelona (the team in Guayaquil named themselves after the Spanish club and adopted/stole their logo). So, it was Emelec. Even better, Emelec plays in Estadio George Capwell, named after the American businessman who was elemental in the early operations of the Empresa Electrica de Ecuador-the national power company. Em-El-Ec a sort of acronym of the company’s name was used as a nickname, and the team used it. Originally, the team was made up of workers for the company. Like a true American, Capwell built the stadium for baseball, but the workers were not interested, so eventually the stadium was converted for use by the soccer team (or so the story goes).
(before the game, the stadium filling up)
So, my second week at work I sent out a short introductory email to all of the local staff. Our office of about 30 people is 2/3 Ecuadorians (although a few of them have double nationality (US/Spain). I did include in the email that I was going to be an “Emelecista” because I can’t stand FC Barcelona. This won me some friendly responses, and apparently caused a bit of stir with some Barcelona fans. Hopefully no one was too angry. But, Byron, one of the young guys in the office, chatted me up because he’s “Emelecista a la muerte” or ‘Emelec fan until I die.’ He asked me if I’d be interested in going to the Clasico del Astillero, or Shipyard Classic, which is the big game between Emelec and Barcelona. They play 4 a year, but it’s still a huge deal. The rivalry is so intense that lots of police are involved and sometimes the opposing teams fans have been barred from entering (like if you have blue shirt on you can’t come in). Barcelona has won the league 14 times, Emelec 12. El Nacional (a team from Quito) has 13 titles. Emelec is two time defending champion though.
(through the fence, the real fans singing)
Emelec’s stadium is under construction, so it was played at a national stadium used for tracks and more often, concerts. Byron picked me up, then two of his friends, then we bought 10 beers and parked a few blocks from the stadium, and cooled off with a few brews before the game. We had pretty good seats, in that we were right next to the section for the “real” fans/hooligans-whatever you want to call them. The people that stand up the whole game, wave flags, and chant/sing every five minutes. The game was great for us, as Emelec won 2-0. They scored in the 72nd and 84th minutes, and Barcelona had a few good chances late, so it was an exciting second half.
(the yellow section is fenced off for the visiting fans)
Even more excitement came after the game. We rushed out of the stadium, as it’s well known that the opposing teams fans (in this case Barcelona) roam the streets after the game looking to torment the other team’s fans. Like physically. Back when he was 16, Byron got caught up in this mess with one of his friends, they didn’t hurt her, but they punched him in the face enough that his braces cut up his gums and his shirt was covered in blood as he stumbled away. So, we were on the lookout-this same friend was with us. So, we walked quickly towards the car, every other corner we’d see people running towards us (other Emelec fans evading the punks) and we’d turn and jog along with them. Needless to say my wallet and phone were in my hand. We did this for about 10 minutes. Then we turned a corner and could see a pickup of Barcelona fans cruising down the road-so we actually were running this time. We stopped about two blocks later-but amid the confusion had lost his two friends. We looked around for them a bit, then made it back to the car.
Byron’s phone was dead, and he didn’t have a charger in his phone. He didn’t know his friend’s number, nor his Facebook password, so I found her on Twitter and sent a few tweets and direct messages. We drove around a bit looking for them, but eventually he took me home. His two friends had kept on running, and jumped on a public bus, then got off at a mall-and only then took their phones out of their purses and called a taxi. She, logically, didn’t check Twitter until she was home. I can’t wait to go to the next game!!!!
(heading out of the stadium)
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