Let the people sing

Every morning I have a cup of tea and a chat with the girl on reception at the hostel.She speaks good English and she knows everything ,and it seems, everyone who lives in Medellin.Its not helping my Spanish that she speaks perfect English but its good to chat.So were chatting one morning and she tells me her football team is playing tonight.They need to win tonight to have any chance of winning the league for the 2nd year running.She tells me I can buy a ticket at the ground if I want to go.I am up for that.They play in green and white which is the same as my team back home.I take this as a sign that I have made the right decision to make Medellin my new home.I have heard it can get a bit out of hand at some of the games but she tells me the team they are playing are not one of there rivals so it should be OK.I bump into a couple of people at the hostel, a German and Swiss, who have already got tickets and I decide to go with them.They have bought the cheap tickets where all the nutters go.I talk to a few people and they say it should be OK there but the safe bet is in the main stand behind the dug outs.I explain to the German and the Swiss where the tickets are for and I am OK to go in there as long as they know.The German is young and he says he doesnt care where he stands.OK fair enough. I am up for it then.I get the impression the German is a bit of a dick but give him the benefit of the doubt.The stadium is only a 15 minute walk from the hostel so we leave one hour before  kick off.The German grabs a bottle of beer to walk down the street with.I think he thinks this makes him look tough but no one else is doing this and he looks like a silly gringo.We start to walk to the game and the streets are filled with people wearing the green and white shirts of Athletico Nacional.The closer we get the more people there are.I explain to the swiss guy that the red and blue cap he is wearing is the colour of there local rivals.He thanks me and takes it off.Like any football match I have been to there is an edge to the atmosphere outside the ground.I think to when I go to watch my team how I feel at ease with the people around me.There is an unwritten bond between everyone, we are all there for the one cause.I start to feel a bit uneasy the closer we get.The three of us look like gringos and we are starting to stand out more and more.We have no connection with theese people.We come to our first search point, everyone is put into lines and searched by the police.I dont have my ticket yet.I hope they let me thru so I can buy it at the kiosk.Everyone is getting thoroughly searched.This is good really.I get thru and and we head to the ticket office.I ask for the cheapest ticket and hand over 16,000 pesos(£4).We walk round to the gate and theres another search point before we get in.This is armed police searching us, not a steward in site.We get thru.We start to walk up the concrete stairs.There is someone smoking a joint on the stairs.People are staring at us.We come to the first level and decide to walk up to the next level.We walk out and we are smack behind the goals.The stadium is a big bowl with only a small roof on the side where the directors sit.It hold 40,000 when full but theres hardly anyone in the opposite end.Its half full behind the goal as we make our way up the steps.Theres no seat numbers.Just grab a place and stand there it seems.We are getting more looks and I can tell the German doesn't look so confident now.I feel uneasy myself but I am trying to look relaxed.The smell of joints being smoked is wafting through the warm evening air.I hope were not standing in the local nutters spot.I look around and the guy behind me is looking at me.I offer him a handshake and he takes it and smiles at me.The place is filling up fast.We had plenty of space but now its getting tight.The pitch looks in great condition but there was a heavy down pour a few hours ago, so its wet on top.Most people seem young ,theres no one over 25.Not only am I a gringo I am the oldest one here.They are all wearing the Nacional shirt or a white vest,with trainers,jeans and mullet hair cut.Think Maradonna 1986 and you get the picture.Suddenly a band turn up.They walk along the front of the stand and the fans go wild.Theres 5 minutes to kick off and the noise starts.This is loud.The band are 100 feet away and they are whipping this crowd into frenzy.Not only are they singing loud but everyone of them is punching there fists in the air.The players are out on the pitch and this area behind the goal is packed.I estimate theres about 10,000 in this section.The match kicks off but its hard to concentrate with the noise the fans are making.They are all singing the same song and its over and over.I still don't feel at total ease.I have been to big games back home but this is really noisy.The band change song and the fans continue with the new song.Nothing stops them from singing.Theres some goal mouth action but they dont stop with the chanting.Everyone of them to a man is chanting the song.I start to wonder what will happen if they score.I would like to see them score but think it could get out of hand if they do.I am spending more time watching the crowd than watching the game.The German is trying to copy the fans but he  is looking stupid.Nacional come close with a header but the chanting keeps on.I look at the clock and 22 minutes has gone.I wonder if they will ever stop singing.I cant believe how they don't stop even to abuse the ref.Its incessant chanting.Then they score with a 20 yard strike that the keeper palms into the roof of the net. Its Bedlam.To the left of me the crowd surges forward.I brace myself for the same but I only get knocked to the left.A new song starts again and its even louder.That wasn't to bad it could have been worse if I had been in the surge to the left.A few minutes later the opposition equalise. Back home when this happens the fans of the team who lost the goal go into stunned silence, even if its only for 30 seconds.Not this lot.Theres barely a second of silence then it starts again.I am amazed.Half time comes and the chanting stops.I need a break from it.I feel at ease now.I talk to the German and ask him what team he supports.Barcelona is his answer.This just confirms my suspicion he is a knob.Someone who doesn't know shit about football so he picks Barcelona.I look around and notice there are no stewards or police in this section.There are riot police on each side but nothing amongst the fans.Its as if we are just put in this section and left to get on with it.The opposite end of the ground has the away fans and there are no more than 30 of them.It took me 13 hours to travel 300 miles in Colombia so I imagine theres never many away fans unless the match is a derby.As soon as the team come out the chanting starts again.Everything is orchestrated by the band and the man on the drum.Everyone knows the words as I would expect at a football match.Nacional score to go 2-1 ahead after 60 minutes.Bedlam again.There is another massive surge and this time I get knocked forward.I manage to keep myself upright and get back to where I was.If it  stays like this then Nacional can still win the league.The clock is ticking and I start to feel some anxiety amongst the fans for the first time.The tension is building.The away team are looking more threatening and I can sense nervousness amongst the Nacional players.The chanting has got slightly quieter for the first time.They are human after all.Its taken 80 minutes.A free kick to the opposition just outside the box.The ball is floated into the back post and the centre forward is there to head home the equaliser.2-2.This is a disaster.A draw is no good.The fans are stunned this time but it lasts no more than 20 seconds.They start again and this time its louder than ever.I am impressed with there support for there team.A lot of fans would get on there back but this lot are giving it everything to support them.Sadly its not enough and the game ends 2-2.Theres no backlash from the fans at the end.Theres still some singing but they start to leave.I talk to the Swiss guy and we are both amazed at the atmosphere we have just witnessed.This is what we need back in the UK.Bring back standing sections and get the atmosphere back to the grounds.This lot put fans at home to shame.My team included.I don't blame the fans its the clubs and the stadiums.The prawn sandwich brigade as Roy Keane said ,is partly to blame.You get thrown out now if you even attempt to stand up.This was old school football I had just witnessed.Pay on the gate and stand behind the goals.Perfect.This is how it was done when I first started going to watch Celtic in the late 80s.One section standing on the lower level behind the goals is not a danger to anyone.The Germans stand at there games so why cant it be done in the UK.We walked home and there was no trouble.I have been told outside the stadium is like a war zone when the two teams from Medellin meet.They both share the stadium and the city is split 50-50 with supporters.I would like to go to this game.I just hope I have made a few Colombian friends by then that I can tag along with.
In the words of Jock Stein " Football is nothing without fans "