Last Saturday I went to a San Telmo game with some friends from the barrio.  San Telmo’s fútbol squad is a third division team whose stadium is out of commission, so went to the game in a neighborhood closer to my house.  Above is a clip from the game. I think the experience is best summarized as “Lessons Learned”.

Lessons Learned:

1. Don’t wear ANY jersey while walking around Buenos Aires (or perhaps much of South America for that matter).  Especially not walking alone.  This I found out after my friend Dani Bravo, who met me before the game, said when he saw me standing outside the Subway station waiting for him.  “Oops. I forgot to tell you. Don’t wear that jersey around when you’re alone.  Not a good idea.”  When you wear a fútbol jersey in South America, you are probably insulting someone gravely and you don’t want to do that.  See 2.
2. Don’t go outside the game at halftime. It can be dangerous (although inside the stadium, where I was, was fine because they don’t allow the opposing fans to the game — in an effort to curb fighting). I did, however, hear three gunshots outside the stadium.  There were also helicopters flying over the game before, during, and after to make sure there weren’t any fights between the fan bases (la hincada) that the police couldn’t see.  When it was safe to leave — police had surrounded the exit — we walked out and I think I managed to get on local TV behind a reporter, with Dani giving the thumbs up.
3. You don’t get into games by traditional means. For this game, Dani gave me an official card for entry with a picture of a dark-skinned middle aged man with a beard.  No problem getting in with that.  For the other game I went to here in Argentina, we paid the parking lot attendant 100 pesos each to get into the La Boca game.
4. Masculinity is not compromised by singing chants to the melody of Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon.” Completely acceptable.