Charles Miller introduced the game of Footbol to Brasil at the end of the 19th Century and its popularity spread quickly. Futebol, as it is written in Portuguese, is a source of pride for a country where babies seem to be born with a soccer ball. Brasil has the most passionate fans and the most futebol clubs in the world. Caio took me to visit The Futebol Museum in Sao Paulo, I learned that the impacts of Futebol, goes beyond sport and is deeply engrained in Brasil’s culture.

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The time of Futebol’s rise in popularity was also the rise of Brasil’s Democratic Government, centered in Rio de Janeiro. Flamengo , the most popular futebol club in Rio de Janeiro modeled there club with a president and other seats to balance the power and allow members to voice their opinions. The club celebrates their founding on November 15, which is also the national holiday of the Day of the Republic of Brasil, when Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca deposed the Emperor of Brasil establishing a Republic in 1889. President J. Kubitschek led the effort to build Brasilia, a new city that was heralded for its modern architecture designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Construction was completed in 1960 by and it became the center of governement in Brasil, linking the Brasil´s more remote territories. In the 1980s, the futebol stars from Club Corinthians, Sao Paulo´s most popular club, motivated their fans to vote for the state elections by wearing kits etched with the words ´Dia 15 Vote´, helping oust 2 decades of military dictatorship. Futebol legends have been elected to seats of government, most recently Romario seeking a seat in Congress.

if you zoom in and look closely you can see some of the modern architecture style used by Niemeyer in the towers, catedral and museum.

Brasil first hosted The World Cup in 1950 and put all its effort into making it an extraordinary event, including constructing Maracana, The Temple of Soccer, with capacity to hold 200,000 standing-room only, where they hoped to celebrate their team’s 3rd title. Those hopes were crushed though in the final game with Uruguai defeating Brasil in the final minutes 2-1. Futebol became an even stronger influence on the country after this heartbreak.

Brasil national anthem – http://youtu.be/e9__ALEI95o

Pantube gets the fans involved – http://youtu.be/hPrJP9phSwI

Brasil futbol dancers – http://youtu.be/I0XS_6EWYpM

Brasil futbol music – http://youtu.be/qNUeXgJh5lY

A fortunate match schedule allowed me to fly through Brasilia enroute to Recife on the day Brasil played their final group match versus Cameroon. Like Manaus and The Amazon, I had the opportunity to visit and tour Brasilia during my trip 6 years ago, so I could focus on experiencing country’s center cultural pride in the country’s central place of government.

I did not meet up with Caio but I met up with these chicas!

But let us not forget the Cameroon fans

I was to meet with my foreign exchange brother, Caio, before the game but we could not locate each other in the sea of yellow/green and red/green. It didn’t help that both of us were wearing Brasil’s yellow/green jersey! I walked around to see The National Stadium and watch fans perform live music and dance before the start, then watched the game at a nearby square. The fans on hand were all cheering on Brasil. I could also hear the sounds from the stadium and see the fireworks after Brasil’s goals, winning 4-1. I should have learned by now that I needn’t to have rushed to the airport to catch my flight to Recife, because it was purposely delayed for the purpose of fans coming from the game.

Celebrating a gol – http://youtu.be/kgDpdLC-wfM

Cameroon fans – http://youtu.be/b9tAlKB-j4g

More decked out Brasilian fans

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