Chilean sports culture

Right now, I'm sitting at the local McDonalds, surrounded by a large group of stray dogs. Coming across a stray dog on the streets of Chile is comparable to coming across a bird or a squirrel in the United States. The dogs are everywhere, but happen to be surprisingly calm. When we got here, everyone's initial reaction was to pet them, but that was before we were told that they all have fleas (and/or other serious diseases). 

As a sports fan, I found the Everton soccer game to be extremely exciting. Our tour/student guides have told us that the Chileans grow up on soccer and take it very seriously. When we entered the stadium, a Chilean man dressed head to toe in Everton yellow put his arm around us and started screaming the teams song. We all started singing along like we knew the words, and he got really excited. When we got to our seats (they were actually bleachers, not assigned seating like in America) we were greeted with Churros and bebidas (soda). At the game, they served ham sandwiches, churros, and candy (contrary to our hot dogs, peanuts, and cotton candy). There was a circular, fenced off tier of grass that surrounded the field where young kids would go down and play soccer while watching the game. We established that even the 3-4 year olds playing around were probably better than us. The game kicked off and the fans went nuts. Fans were banging drums and jumping in unison the entire game, chanting their team song When Everton scored, the people from the top bleacher would run down to the bottom bleacher with a huge Everton banner and began to jump up and down. The cheering and singing didn't subside until the game was over. Despite outplaying their opponent the entire game, Everton settled for a tie, but it was very exciting nonetheless.

In between lectures at the Universidad de Santa Maria, we had some free time to walk around and explore. We came across a basketball court where we found 4 local students shooting around. A few of my friends and I walked over and asked if we could play. They were very accepting and welcoming, and we split up Americans vs. Chileans. As we were playing, students began to walk inside the gymnasium to watch and cheer. We only got in about 5 or 6 points before the game was cut short because they needed the court for gym class. The game ended with the Americans ahead. My friends and I were feeling pretty good about our athletic ability, but that was only until we played them in soccer the next day...

Our culture in regards to sports is very different. The Chilean SportsCenter consists of 80% soccer highlights. When you turn on Fox Sports, it would be surprising to not find a soccer game (but you will find the occasional Rugby match). Soccer and Rugby are as big in Chile as Football and Baseball are in America. I find their world of sports very interesting, I just need to improve my soccer (futbal) game. 

Peace(co), love, happiness...

Cory Sigadel