FUTBOL: So Chile won the Copa de America this past Sunday. For
Latin American countries, the fan base for futbol is like trying to
imagine the fanbase for American football plus basketball plus baseball.
People live for it, people die for it, and whatever happens, don’t lose
to Argentina. Luckily they didn’t lose to Argentina. They ended up
winning in penalty kicks which made for an interesting finish. I was
lucky enough to watch the game with a family that I was staying with in
Pucón for the weekend. They made it a big event, providing snacks beer,
and entertainment. After every call, the entire family was either
cheering or complaining, very involved in the game. Their emotions added
to the environment around the game. As I headed back to Santiago, I
could not stop seeing people in jerseys or waving flags out of their
cars while honking. The city was so proud of their team, and they should
be. My favorite part though is that for the next couple of days, every
phone call or every conversation begins with CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE or a
joke about Argentina. This Copa de America has been a wonderful
experience to be in Chile, and I am sad that it is over because it
brings joy and hope to people all around the country. The theme of this
blog is about futbol and its effects on cities, countries, and more.
Just like American sports, futbol has gone from a fun game to a profiting business built on growth. With the entire world involved or at least with knowledge of the sport, its customer base is almost endless. I don’t know if this as a fact, but I assume almost every fifth person in Chile has a jersey to represent its team. Merchandise is huge, or at least it became huge after Chile began to excel in this tournament. On game days, people fill the streets selling gear with the flag on it ranging from horns to hats to cups. And from what I saw, they were very successful through it. People made the game into a business. But it is more than a game; it’s a lifestyle. Futbol has its highs and lows, and the people ride those highs and lows with their teams. The results of a match may drive how someone acts for the rest of the night, the week, or until the next time their team plays.
Throughout the tournament, I would come home on a night of a Chile game, and my host family would be having a party, celebrating the game with hopes of a win. My hostbrother has recently converted to the Uber world and has started Uberdriving. As much as he loves the Chile games, sometimes he loves money a little more. He told me that regardless the day of the week, when there is a Chile game, he makes three times the amount of money driving with uber because of the high demand on game day. Everyone watches, everyone goes out, and everyone makes the game into an event. In my time in Spain, there were similar representations of futbol. Restaurants would always advertise the games for that day first, and then food specials after.
What I am trying to say is that the world loves futbol. The United States is ahead of the world on a lot of things, but futbol is definitely not one of them. Actually, the United States might be the one place futbol can expand because we base our main sports on football, basketball, and baseball. It might take a while, but with the talks of safety in American football, some parents are starting to not let their kids play. This shift might spring futbol forward in popularity. The American teams are starting to get bigger names and the although I do not watch the American teams, I am starting to learn more about them and see more games start to be televised. The curve may be slow but the United States will catch up to the rest of the world eventually.
In short: ball is life.
Just like American sports, futbol has gone from a fun game to a profiting business built on growth. With the entire world involved or at least with knowledge of the sport, its customer base is almost endless. I don’t know if this as a fact, but I assume almost every fifth person in Chile has a jersey to represent its team. Merchandise is huge, or at least it became huge after Chile began to excel in this tournament. On game days, people fill the streets selling gear with the flag on it ranging from horns to hats to cups. And from what I saw, they were very successful through it. People made the game into a business. But it is more than a game; it’s a lifestyle. Futbol has its highs and lows, and the people ride those highs and lows with their teams. The results of a match may drive how someone acts for the rest of the night, the week, or until the next time their team plays.
Throughout the tournament, I would come home on a night of a Chile game, and my host family would be having a party, celebrating the game with hopes of a win. My hostbrother has recently converted to the Uber world and has started Uberdriving. As much as he loves the Chile games, sometimes he loves money a little more. He told me that regardless the day of the week, when there is a Chile game, he makes three times the amount of money driving with uber because of the high demand on game day. Everyone watches, everyone goes out, and everyone makes the game into an event. In my time in Spain, there were similar representations of futbol. Restaurants would always advertise the games for that day first, and then food specials after.
What I am trying to say is that the world loves futbol. The United States is ahead of the world on a lot of things, but futbol is definitely not one of them. Actually, the United States might be the one place futbol can expand because we base our main sports on football, basketball, and baseball. It might take a while, but with the talks of safety in American football, some parents are starting to not let their kids play. This shift might spring futbol forward in popularity. The American teams are starting to get bigger names and the although I do not watch the American teams, I am starting to learn more about them and see more games start to be televised. The curve may be slow but the United States will catch up to the rest of the world eventually.
In short: ball is life.
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Read more from Luke at https://lukeinchilesite.wordpress.com/
To find more internship and study abroad opportunities
within Walton College, visit http://walton.uark.edu/global/index.php
