We went to the opening game of the season to see the Querétaro Gallos play the Leones. Going in I thought that we could be in trouble because roosters don't seem much of a challenge for lions.
I thought that the police looked like they were a little bit overdressed, but after the game I wondered if they maybe should have had a little bit more protective gear.
The fans, or "La Resistencia" were hyped and they sang all kinds of songs throughout the entire game. It was packed and I learned that there is no such thing as a fire code in the Estadio de la Corregidora. It is the 8th biggest stadium in Mexico and was built when the country hosted the World Cup. It was clear early on that there were more people than seats in there but it didn't matter because people could stand in the aisles, and sit in the stairways packed in like sardines.
The snack sellers didn't have peanuts or hot dogs but they did have cups of fruit, pizzas, sandwiches, churros, pumpkin seeds, candy, potato chips with hot sauce, and of course, cerveza. I was really surprised with the amount of drinking going on how horrible the bathroom was. They didn't even have any paper and flushing was discouraged. A saint of a woman handed me some TP from her purse when Rocky had to go. I guess it just seemed strange in a venue that was so nice otherwise.
The beer was sold in huge cups which turned out to be important for the fans who would drink part of it and then when a bad call was made would throw the rest of it onto the field, or if they were too far back, onto the spectators that were sitting below. The juice company "Boing!" also had handed out a bunch of juice boxes that apparently weren't to drink but to be used as grape bombs that would explode on the field after every failed attempt at a goal.
We didn't get too many photos because our camera ran out of batteries. Some of the students took some photos of our family with Brandon actually in them so I'll have to see if I can track one down. This was something that he was really excited about and he looked so cute in his Gallo jersey. Instead we have Rocky with her princess hat.
I thought that it was a little bit ironic that the churros cost 25 pesos which is clearly a steal and that the Nerds candy cost the same, what a rip off. I don't know how a cheapskate like myself will be able to return to the U.S. after getting used to these prices. I guess the availability of decent bathrooms will have to be my comfort.
At this point I was trying to upload a video but I can't get it to work.
Despite the enthusiasm of the fans the Gallos lost 2-0. They had some good shots but weren't able to pull it off. The Leones scored a goal off a penalty kick at about 2 minutes in and then just a few minutes before the end of the game scored again. After the second goal we thought that it might be prudent to take our little girls and get out of there before the mood soured. Some of the students told us later that as they were leaving the angry crowd started throwing their juice boxes at the police and they got rowdy enough that the police shot some kind of gas out.
We didn't really see anything like that but we did see a truck with the cab full of about 10 shirtless dudes stopped at a red light get attacked by some local fans. Apparently the reason they were all bare-backed was because they had taken off their Leon jerseys as a precaution that didn't really help them much. The people waiting at the intersection just started punching anyone they could reach. The poor guys in the truck had no choice but to huddle together and try to hide their heads. At the time it was kind of awful to witness, but now looking back it seems funny. All those guys crammed into the bed of the truck just stuck there.
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