Buenos Aires

Flashback to the early 80s in the United States with the bright blue roos, mullets and leggings tucked in bunched up boots and you have a snippet of Buenos Aires. Fashion is different but more in the hairstyles and color combinations than anything else. Men are just as fashionable as women and it is common to see everyone in suits during the workday. Everyone seems to have a dog here, but as a pet not as a stray. Dog walkers are common to see. I thought multi-tasking was easy until I came here. It's a little difficult to walk and see the sights while also watching my step to make sure I don't step in the dog poop scattered on the sidewalks.
We saw one woman nicely pick up her dog's poop with a piece of paper and then throw it into the street. Cars still have the right of way, but it is not too hard to get around since most streets are oneway. Each neighborhood has one or two things it's known for but each one seems to have its own personality making it an adventure. Although there is a decent subway and bus system (or what most people would call public transportation), it is not difficult to walk around the city and can actually be quite enjoyable.
There are plenty of plazas and statues to admire along the way as well as the various architectural designs. We did have the luxury of trying the wonderful, famous steak and wine here. Melbac was suggested to us by an Argentine we met in Lake Titicaca and certainly, it is a nice wine.

Due to sickness, our time here in Buenos Aires has been quite mellow but we were able to enjoy a Boca futbol game. Christina was able to go to a Tango dinner show but I was quite ill so I can only speak of the futbol game as a highlight.

There are some fans that are paid by politicians to be super fans. Not only are they fans for a certain team, but they also increase the rivalry between the teams and can start riots.
Originally, we bought tickets to see River play Newell. We paid extra money to have a guide escort us for safety reasons because things can become intense. The River game was cancelled because one of these paid fans was shot outside of the stadium after a game, last week. Fortunately, they were able to switch our tickets for the Boca Jrs vs. Argentino game. At first, we sat in the Argentino section of Argentino's stadium (each team has their own stadium) and our direct group had 17 people but in total we were 150 tourists.
Police align all the stadium seating and were in force. SWAT aligns the streets outside of the stadium with their armored trucks on high alert. We watched a bit of the Boca Reserve vs. Argentino Reserve game and when someone in our large group cheered for a Boca goal, the police officers suggested we be moved to the Boca side. So, all 150 of us had to move...where the other 133 ended up, I am not sure. We were all in the same area, at first, on the Boca side as well, but because we stuck out so much, they moved the other group. Oh the madness.

Banners are hung in each teams color. Flags are waved. Fans are decked out in their teams colors. Profanities are shouted constantly. Songs and cheers are repeated at the highest decibel in order to outdo the other fans. The quietest it gets, is during halftime when people take a breather to sit. During play, men get up on the railings to sing and lead the crowd. Some even get up on the fences and shake them, never daring to go too high because of the barbed wire coiled and spiked around the top. I could see only about half the field and since there are no scoreboards or big screens I always hoped the action would come back in my direction. The crowd is dominated by males...maybe 95%. Women can be trampled, quite easily, as I almost witnessed. Two men decided they liked my spot so they just stood on my step, directly where I was backing me up against the people behind me. Our guide had to wedge me out from between the two of them.

Although alcohol is prohibitied, it doesn't stop fans from drinking beforehand. The air oscillates between marijuana, cigarettes and a faint odor of men's cologne. If fans weren't loud enough or singing enough, the men leading the singing would get angry and start shouting. The band, or drums mostly, kept the beat going so the fans wouldn't get off key (well most of them at least).

Once the game was over (unfortunately, Boca lost to Argentino 2-3), we had to wait for the rest of the crowd to dissipate but, at first, it didn't. Not like it would in the US. Even though Boca lost, the fans didn't stop cheering and singing. We hung around until the Boca fans left and then pretty much had a police escort out of the stadium.
SWAT was now lining the field and the outside of the stadium. Fans were directed in opposite directions away from the stadium to eliminate the chance of fights or death. Once the police led us out of the stadium, we waited with them until the crowds were gone so we could continue to our taxis. Out of everything we've done so far, that seemed to be the most dangerous! It was definitely a worthwhile experience and I would very much enjoy returning here.