Pasto (which means grass!)

Last night I went to my first futbol game in South America. It was $8 a person. Paston (home-field advantage) played Defensor, a regional team from Uruguay. The whole town of Pasto came. The opening procession, or perhaps more of a pre-game show, is police. There were three types. First the Colobian SWAT team. Head-to-toe in black armor, they looked like storm troopers from Star Wars only in black. They carried body shields and an assortment of weapons, from tear gas to billy clubs to some sort of guns, not my forte. They lined the field to guard the players and insure that none of the fans riot. They secure a 12´ solid metal fence with their artillery and an occasional German Shepard, all scanning the crowd looking for trouble. The second type is in olive green uniforms with white accoutrement and accessories. A belt, billy club, holster, all in white, a lovely contrast with the olive. Interestingly enough, their holsters are empty, a mere threat, only an illusion of deadly force. I think the third type may just be the officers of the olives. They were berets without any of the white accents and some have long coats with tails. When I entered the stadium, I got frisked by one of the olives. Women get frisked by women, men by men. And I thought it was bad when they wouldn´t let me take an umbrella into the Stones concert at the Meadowlands!

So they don´t sell beer at the stadium. Bummer. But then again, it´s probably a good thing. The police would have much more work to do, I´m sure, if beer were sold. And who wants to work when there´s a game on?!? It started to rain just before half-time and we hid under the huge Pasto banners. It was a bit chilly as well, coffee at half-time too. Pasto held the lead 1-0 up until 20 minutes into the second half. There were 4 red cards in the game, hence 4 players ejected, and 7 yellow cards given. It wasn´t the roughest match I´ve ever seen. I think the ref was trigger happy. If he ejected one player one one team for an offense, he had to make the same call on the other side. Pasto was stronger, more experienced, Uruguay mostly youngsters, but scrappers at that. In the final minutes, the crowd cheering Pasto on for another goal, both teams down to 9 players, the field and the players soaked with rain, Uruguay scored a second goal. The fans deflated, they began leaving the stadium before the final whistleblow. Pasto dominated the entire game, but Uruguay had heart, and damn fine conditioning. I love soccer! Have I mentioned that?