Monday, November 3, 2008

After 6 years, my mind is at ease



As a birthday gift, my Dad, Sam and I went to the US-Uruguay World Cup warmup in 2002. Now, if you don't follow the US National team, you probably don't know that the US almost never plays a home game (and home is a big advantage in soccer). Especially against Mexico, where the US plays away in Mexico, and then "less away" -- but definitely not home -- when they play in the US.


Uruguay is a country of only 3.5 million people. Smaller than metro Houston, in other words. Yet, in DC, the Uruguay fans were loud, singing the same song over and over and over again. It was definitely effective.


I've been asking every Uruguayan I've met since then (3? don't know), and never gotten an answer. Maybe they just couldn't understand my attempts at singing it. But a good friend of mine from church (who lived in Houston for 6 years) is a Uruguayan and has solved my mystery. Mystery solved: "Yo soy un celeste, yo soy un celeste, un celeste, yo so." I'm a blue, I'm a blue, a blue, I am.
The funny thing is that Uruguay is probably more like Buenos Aires than Buenos Aires is to the rest of Argentina. They both speak with the Rioplatense accent, Montevideo and Buenos Aires are just across the river from each other. I say this with the confidence of having not yet visited, though I surely will in the next few months.

1 comment:

Jenn said...

I went to the USA v. Mexico game here at Reliant stadium. Guess I didn't understand how special it was at the time...