I could feel the ground trembling beneath me. I could hear the unfaltering roar of the crowd. Nothing have I ever experienced like this.
This is Colombian soccer.
Fans clad in red and white striped jerseys jumped from their seats, clinging to each other in passionate embraces. Others in the stadium boisterously shoved those around them, carelessly aware of only one thing. Junior scored a goal.
Junior is one of twenty teams within the Liga Águila del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano. On my first day in Barranquilla, my host family eagerly declared their loyalty to Junior as we watched a game on television. Much to their approval, I embraced Junior as my team, too.
Although our tickets specified exact seats, my Colombian friend and I arrived early enough to the game that we were able to actually choose where we wanted to sit. He merely shrugged his shoulders when I questioned if we needed to find the seats printed onto our tickets.
We sat on the east side of the stadium, a relatively calm place to enjoy the game with a perfect view of the centerfield. This side of the stadium is referred to as the Barra Fuerza Tiburona, or literally, the Shark's Force Fan Section.
Around the stadium hung colorful banners representing different neighborhoods in Barranquilla. The most clamorous fans occupied the south side of the stadium, chanting throughout the entire game. These fans are the Barra Frente Rojiblanco Sur, or literally, the Red and White Front.
Minutes before the game began, diehard fans eagerly distributed red, white, and blue balloons among the crowd. These represented the colors of Junior. Others distributed plastic bags in the colors of Barranquilla's flag: red, yellow, and green.
I captured air inside of my yellow bag and held it high as the anthem of Barranquilla played. As the anthem ended, we left the bags and balloons to the wind, blowing freely in a colorful confetti to the lowest part of the stadium.
Eighth-ranked Junior played second-ranked Independiente Santa Fe. To spot a Santa Fe fan in the crowd was impossible. When I asked my friend if Junior would win, he replied affirmatively. His answer needed to justification. Junior fans, through the good and the bad, are undyingly loyal to the tiburones, or sharks.
His confidence was justified, as Junior claimed a 3-1 victory over the team from Bogotá. With each of the three goals, the stadium shook beneath my feet as the fans jumped and cheered.
To not be completely engulfed within the sights and sounds was impossible. In such an amplified environment, feeling a part of the culture is not difficult. In these moments, at my very first soccer game, I never felt more at home.
