I hate to say it, but I’m not really a sports person. It may be un-American, but I didn’t attend my first professional football game until my mid-twenties, and despite being a member of my high school marching band and therefore present at many high school football games, I still struggle to understand the rules. Add that to my attendance at one DC United game and a handful of Nationals games, and you’ve got a pretty good handle on my level of enthusiasm for sporting events.
Given the above, my choice of blog topic might seems a little unusual. Why would someone that can barely drag themselves to the stadium in support of their own home team propose spending even an iota of time and money – both so limited on vacation – attending a local soccer game or boxing match? The truth is that while I may not love sports, I do love people, and no group is more passionate or more excitable than a stadium full of fans.
Over the last few years, I’ve been swept away by the drama of the lucha libra fights in Mexico City, cheered my way through a Muay Thai match in Bangkok, and nervously watched a bullfight in Madrid. In each place, I’ve found that both the traditions and artistry of the sport and the fans themselves gave me a window into the culture I would have otherwise overlooked. In museums and art exhibits and on tours of monuments and castles, there is a distance between the visitor and the visited. At sporting events, however, it’s impossible to escape the frenzy that sweeps over the crowd; the energy is almost palpable. You are thrust into the middle of something brand new, and something bigger than yourself. Instead of observing a culture or a tradition, you’re embraced by it. “Spectator” is a misnomer; even in the audience, you’re a participant.
Finally, sporting events overseas profoundly and uniquely illustrate the relationship between a society’s values and the evolution of its traditions. Muay Thai, for example, originated in the middle of the 16th century during a time of war, and emphasized the transformation of the entire body into a lethal weapon.
No where is this relationship more apparent, however, than in the elaborate rituals surrounding the lucha libra fight. Each wrestler adopts a persona, and with it, a mask and costume. Every character, like a modern day super hero, embodies either good or evil. Each match is framed as an epic battle between the two forces, and the audience almost universally cheers for the fighter representing good. Predictable traits are ascribed to each character; the hero is brave and strong, and the villain is evil and deceitful. The arenas are covered in murals depicting good triumphing over evil, and each wrestling match allows the audience to experience and celebrate that triumph.
If I’ve persuaded you to head to the closest polo arena the next time you’re in England, or check out sumo wrestling in Japan, consider the following tips for the most authentic experience.
– Unless you’re truly a fan of the sport, buy cheap tickets. Odds are, you’re there for the spectacle, not the match itself. There’s no need to be close enough to see the athletes sweat. Nosebleed seats or the equivalent are kinder to your wallet, and you won’t feel guilty about leaving early if, like me, the actual sport part doesn’t compel your interest. The people watching also can’t be beat. In Mexico, at the very top of the stadium, we paid $4 each and sat between a very excited family and an older man who wore a luchedor mask the entire time and was asleep in the stands when we arrived. I put him in the “medium scary” category.
– Visit the snack section. Food and drink are fundamental to all sporting events. What would baseball be without peanuts and cracker jacks, or football without chicken wings? You’ll experience the local equivalent of stadium food, adding a whole new dimension to your experience. In Thailand, fried grasshoppers and crickets are served alongside room temperature beer in plastic cups. Koreans eat dried squid at their baseball games, and in Mexico, get yourself some popcorn and an overpriced Corona. No where, however, is snack time more exciting than Managua, where bottles of Nicaraguan rum make the game – and the crowd – a lot more intense.
– Just accept that the logistics of this experience will probably be a pain. The stadium will probably be located in kind of a scary area, and you’ll probably have to wander around a little until you find it. It won’t be close to the tourist district, because locals, not tourists, are its primary customers. Buying tickets will be very confusing, and you’ll risk ending up sitting behind a pillar. The bathrooms will be apocalyptic, so don’t even bother. Embrace these challenges and remember that you’re seeing a part of the city and a facet of its people that most tourists can’t even imagine.
– Choose a side. Even if you’re working with a limited understanding of the sport, cheering for “yellow shirt team” or “guy in green spandex” will really up the stakes, and investing in the outcome might show you what all the fuss is about. Competitions, no matter how unique or unusual, are much more fun if you care who wins.
Let’s be fearless,
Jen