¡La Liga Ganó!

Yeah, it’s past 2am, and this ain’t Veracruz, but I felt like I just partied like it was. La Liga Deportiva Universitaria, which is an equipo de fútbol (soccer team) here in Quito, just won the Copa Libertadores (Liberator’s Cup), and the city of Quito (and probably the whole country) is celebrating their first championship in the tournament. On top of that, La Liga’s final opponent was Fluminense of Río de Janeiro, Brazil. And as one of my teachers told me, “Brasil es fútbol” (Brazil is soccer), so it was a pretty big deal for an Ecuadorian team to beat Brazil.

I was actually supposed to go watch the game with Eduardo at his sister’s house, but he had to work late. I wasn’t feeling that great anyway (my body has had to adjust to the temperate climate here in the Andes), but I ended up catching the end of the game at a Chinese restaurant when I went out to eat. I figured I better watch the game even if I wasn’t feeling well since I could hear the people in the house next to us screaming like bloody murder (Fluminense had scored).

The game, sure enough, went down to penalties after two extra periods of neither team scoring. La Liga’s goalie, José Francisco Cevallos, became the hero of the night, blocking 3 penalty kicks and finally ending the game (La Liga had already made 3 of the 5, so it was over for Fluminense). Cevallos was immortalized that night. One of my teacher’s said that the federal government could give him a pension after he retires. If this still doesn’t give you an idea of how big fútbol is in Ecuador, then let me describe the scene that night.

Well, when the game was on, Quito looked like a ghost town. As you walked down the street, most of what you saw were people glued to TVs behind house windows and locked store gates. The only thing open pretty much were bars and the Chinese restaurant I came across, and even there the people inside were carefully focused on every play of the game. When Cevallos made the game winning block the whole city erupted. Everyone in the restaurant went directly to the door. The streets began to erupt with song, dance, cheers, and honking car horns. That was only the beginning.

At the restaurant I paid for my food after someone came back from the street to the register and then started walking home. Fireworks were already ringing out like gunshots throughout the city. Everyone you came across screamed “La Liga,” “Campeónes,” or something else to let you know that La Liga had won. Every car that passed was honking and people were intermediately dancing in the streets. When I got home, I could hear the neighbors going nuts, singing various championship songs.

I forgot to mention in this story that I locked my keys inside and couldn’t really get back in the house, so I was waiting for Eduardo to get back home and let me in. This becomes relevant now because as the neighbors came outside to party they saw me waiting and they asked me if I wanted to go with them instead of waiting for Eduardo. Mind you, I just met these neighbors (Roberto, his wife Gabriela, and her sister, Soledad), I had no idea where they were taking me, and I really didn’t do a very good job of asking where we were going. I just figured there was a bigger party about to jump off somewhere so I jumped in he car and off we went.

Turns out, we were going to the University of Quito, where La Liga was founded some years ago (I found out later La Liga is a professional team though, not a college team). The earlier ghost town was now alive with movement and sound. As we got closer to La Universidad de Quito the streets became flooded with people. We turned off on a side street, parked the car, and went by foot the rest of the way to the front gates of the University.

In the states a professional sports team that has just won a championship might have a city sanctioned parade a few days after the final game. This parade was a impromptu gathering formed by the people to celebrate their newly crowned national heroes. I was told that La Universidad de Quito was a public school attended by those that might not be able to afford a private school. The gathering seemed to include all different types of Ecuatorianos, though it still probably didn’t include the lowest classes, who didn’t have the means to even get to the celebration.

Funny thing I thought, upon arriving to the crowded front gates of the University, a lot of people seemed to be soaking wet. About the same time I noticed this, one of the guys in the group, Christián, starts stripping off his clothes and tells me to do the same. We were going to go jump in the fountain with everyone else. Now, this is not 90+ warm and sunny weather we’re talkin about here in South America. Quito is high up in the Andes mountains, so it’s cool if the sun ain’t out, and at this point it was around midnight.

Whatever. How was I gonna be in Quito the night La Liga won it’s first Copa Libertadores, and be standing right in front of the Universidad and not jump in the fountain? Off came my fleece and shirt, and into the crowd we went. When I say this place was packed, I mean we had to push our way through people just to get to the fountain... and there was hardly any space in this huge fountain to even get into it! We were only in the shallow part and the cold water flew as hundreds of people inside the fountain jumped up and down! After getting thoroughly soaked we squeezed our way out and met back up with the group.

After drink off a bit and getting my clothes back on, somebody handed me a beer and we drank, somehow here was also wine passed around too, as we sang songs, joked, laughed, and had a real chill time as everyone took in the championship. To be honest, at the beginning of the night when I was watching the game, I didn’t even know which team on the television was La Liga and which was Fluminense (I dared not ask anyone and just figured it out on my own). By the end of the night I was pumping my first screaming “¡Li-Li-Li Ga-Ga-Ga!” and singing “¡Campeón, Campeón!”

Yeah, Quito is a new trip, but I’m getting into it pretty quick.