I don’t pretend to know much about football. I am a supporter of a London football team, although that is more an inherited responsibility as it’s a family tradition. I couldn’t tell you who plays for them, or explain the offside rule. But football is such a Brazilian institution and Maracana is, after all, the largest stadium in the world--how could we not go?
The tickets were quite cheap (around US$5) and available easily, but the stadium is so vast that this Flamengo v Fluminense match (two top Rio teams) couldn’t possibly fill it--a quarter of the stadium was filled, tops. But that didn’t in any way diminish the experience.
The crowd was seriously passionate--flipping cartwheels, crying, and singing songs. Huge flags and banners are waved over the barriers. Samba drums play in the background, and vendors carry chilled cans of Skol over to you in your seats along with any other refreshments you may fancy.
You can pretty much sit wherever you want. We were sitting in the Flamengo stands; their colours are red and black and they are the hosts of the annual red and black ball that has become such a carnival institution.
The sunshine helps, of course-- no shivering in a packamac here. Even when the sky does break into a shower, you welcome the refreshing drops, and you can’t help but be relieved for the footballers, running all over the pitch in the hot sun.
The result was a draw, to the great disappointment of the rest of the Flamengo fans that were sitting near us. We felt their pain, but for us the day had been a great success. Football Brazilian-style could even turn me into a serious fan.