¡Bravo, La Roja!

Despite tremendous fan enthusiasm, including this vendor at the Avenida Argentina market in Valpo on Saturday...

...we are all very sad in Chile because Brazil won the knock-out round of the World Cup. But what a game! The score was tied at 1-1, and so 2 15 minute over-time periods were played. For those of you who do not follow futbol, this means 120 minutes (plus some extra time for game delays) of play. Can you imagine running in the heat for that long? With no change in the score, the game was decided with penalty kicks...and Brazil got one more than Chile.

It was really great while it lasted, and so much fun to be here to celebrate the wins.

CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE, CHILE!!!!!

La Roja did it again! With its second win in the first round of this year's Cup, Chile will be advancing to the round of 16. This is a HUGE deal, and boy oh boy, is it exciting to be here to see it happening. The game started at 3 p.m., and as before, it was easy to tell when each of the two goals was scored, even without a radio, the Internet or TV. The collective scream of GOAAAAAAL, from nearly everyone in the country is something to hear. I followed along online for the first half, then went over to the same place across the street where I watched the last match. There were a lot more people there today, and by the time I got there, the place was jumping.

Showing their spirit:

 

Valparaíso street is one block away from me, and is the main bar area in this part of town. As I left the Wall Street restaurant, I heard a roaring sound, looked down the street and saw the entire street choked with revilers, screaming, jumping and dancing. Flags were waving, horns were honking and there was just a lot of general rejoicing. Now, an hour or so after the match, the joy is still apparent, in the continuous, rhythmic beeping of car horns as drivers go down Alvarez. GO CHILE!

2014 World Cup, Chile Style

Yesterday the entire country dropped everything to watch Chile's first game in this year's World Cup, against Australia, but the excitement has been building for some time. Vendors have been selling crazy hats, flags and vuvuzelas at stop lights for over a week and PUCV's administration got into the spirit of things by cancelling classes for the 13th, 18th and 23rd of June, for Chile's preliminary matches. We also got a notice from Joel's school on the 10th, that after-school activities would be cancelled for the 13th (even though yesterday's match was slated to start at 6 p.m.!), and that students and teachers would be watching the other two matches during school hours.

This of course, is fascinating for someone like me who comes from the US where: A) most don't understand soccer, let alone watch the World Cup and B) school is never cancelled for sporting events.

I'd been out earlier in the afternoon to do some errands, and saw the preparations for the evening's festivities. At a plaza about 5 blocks away, a big-screen TV was up, and all around the area restaurants and bars had Copa Mundial specials on their outside chalkboards. As you can see from the picture, even the weather was cooperating:

I tried to watch the game online, but it didn't work well. By the time Univision started a delayed stream, Chile had scored not one, but TWO goals early in the first half. I could easily tell, because the entire country screamed GOAAAAAAAAAAL! I then went downstairs, and watched with the two guys who were on duty at our reception desk. They'd set up a large TV behind the desk, and didn't even notice I was watching until I'd been there for about 6 or 7 minutes, so intent were they on the game. I went across the street for the second half, to Wall Street, a restaurant Steve, Joel and I went to quite a lot. Things looked a bit scary in the 2nd half, but La Roja got off a 3rd goal in extra time, right at the end of the game, for a final score of 3-1.
That is when the beeping started: all up and down every street, cars kept up a rhythmic beep beep, beep beep beep for almost two hours. The revelry went on long into the night, with groups of people singing, cheering and just generally celebrating the victory.
Chi Chi Chi, Le Le Le, CHILE!