If you're ever in Argentina, you can be almost guaranteed to get the question "Boca or River?", asking you which soccer team you care about. The fact that I didn't have an opinion was absolutely shocking to some people. I'd have a hard time thinking of an equivalent question in US sports. "Are you a Yankees fan?" is probably the closest you can come.
One thing not noted by the article. If you're ever in Argentina and asked "Pele or Maradona?" you better damn well answer Maradona under threat of lynching.
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I am not sure whether to be disturbed or amused by the following line:
"I once sat in a wheelchair so I could get into the stadium with a handicapped ticket," said Torrico, a waiter at a restaurant called Loco Por el Futbol -- "Crazy for Soccer" -- in the city's Recoleta district. "Since my birth, I made a promise to River, and I will never fail them. I will never wear another jersey."
I laughed aloud at the wheelchair fanatic. I think it's bigger than Yankees/Red Sox because the players seem to play off the rivalry, saying it is more for the fans.
However, I think the Boca players hate River and its fans. When Tevez scored his goal in the Copa Libertadores final, he showed up River fans through his chicken dance in reference to the gallinas. Also after winning their 5th South American title, Boca printed up t-shirts that asked River to "Keep Participating".
On the other hand Boca's pathetic performance in last year's Copa Libertadores Championship (missing every PK) was truly embarrassing.
We had dinner Saturday at our favorite Argentine restaurant, La Cabaña, about a block from home. I asked the owner one question: "Boca or River?" He said "Boca, of course!"
That's one of the things I really love about football. I asked a woman on a flight once when I found out she was from Edinburgh, Scotland, "Hearts or Hibs?" She was stunned, but said "Hearts, if I had to make a choice."
It's odd that while I'm in the US, I could really care less about soccer. I have no clue who's winning or losing right now. Once I'm in Latin America, there's no better sport. It has something to do with the crowd, whether you're at the game or watching in a bar or talking about it the next day.
Of course, I've provided my gringo credentials on more than one occassion. I once asked a bar in Colombia to change the channel to a Stanley Cup game. Fortunately, no other sports were on at the time, otherwise it could have been ugly.
The wheel chair quote was definitely not made up.
A die hard Boca friend of mine told me that wheel chair renting was once a lucrative business outside Boca's and River's stadiums.
The authorities eventually found out and put an end to the fraud.
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