ESD#48: BRASILLLLL!!!!!

And now this space has turned into a photo blog. Why not?

Last night E and I went to the Brazil vs. Venezuela soccer game at Foxboro.


We had a blast, despite some logistical nightmares (like E not realizing the game was Friday until a neighbor on the street asked him, "Aren't you going to the game tonight?"--thanks, Kyle!).


To put it mildly, E was excited about the game.


OK, let's make that ecstatic about the game.


Stinkin' Pats!


The game was preceded by the Revolution vs. Dallas game, of which we caught the last fifteen minutes. Obviously the Revolution would win, because they have the far superior uniforms. Seriously, isn't this jersey crazy hot (well, the font's a little lame, but the cut's great)?

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We were up 2-0, but Dallas scored exactly at 90 minutes, and the Revolution looked like they were dying, so the following couple of minutes were kind of nail biting--just blow the whistle already! In the end, we won 2-1. Here are the highlights.

The goalie Matt Reis is a total beast. He had a career high 10 saves that night, and we saw some pretty phenomenal ones. He got a standing ovation when he left the field.


Exhibit phenomenal save:

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As Reis said in the highlight interview, obviously not everyone was there for the Revolution. Major understatement! We went to a game a few years ago, and the stadium was maybe 1/8 full?

We were hard pressed to find any Venezuelan fans. Can you spot one? I can't!


Everyone stood up for the pre-game pump up songs. Due to our love of Gob and "Arrested Development," our favorite was "The Final Countdown." As E said, that song works in any language. I can testify that I've heard it multiple times in Mexico. Check out E dancing on the left of the frame.


And here's the chorus!


I like this video of "We Will Rock You" because the cute little boys in front of us have really bad rhythm.


Brazil takes the field! The crowd goes wild!


Warm-ups.


Brazil national anthem. You can hear E singing the lyrics "pan de queijo," his favorite Brazilian pastry.


The Brazilian fans were awesome. One lady had a Brazilian flag painted on her big pregnant belly-can't believe I didn't get a photo! I've spent a lot of time with Brazilians so I'm always interested in cultural differences. Soccer definitely introduced me to some new ones. For example, some of the crowd's responses were confusing. After Venezuela scored their first goal (at five minutes, ugh), the crowd started a pump up chant, clearly saying, "No problem! We'll get 'em back!" But then at halftime, when we were down 2-0, they booed the team when they went to the locker room, as though to say, "Step it up, losers!" E also pointed out that the Brazilians probably weren't happy with the condiments at the snack bar, because we've never seen a Brazilian eat ketchup. When the game was over, and Brazil lost 2-0, people were surprisingly in great spirits. I chalk it up to a fun night celebrating nationalism, but who knows.

Random field shots (that first one was taken near the end of the night, so it had cleared out a bit).