Soccer SuperFans

By: Gabriel Almada, Waterloo, ON

I was born in Argentina, so it's natural I will cheer for my home country's team...I'm a huge soccer fan and I have been involved in soccer for many years. I have coached community soccer teams in the past and I'm currently coaching to city teams (U15 Boys), my son playing on one of them.

My whole family shares this passion for the most popular sport in the world, especially my two boys. My oldest son is so commited to soccer that he has never missed a game since he started playing at a competitive level seven seasons ago (more than 200 games in a row, with over 110 goals!)

We have many rituals and superstitions around soccer (they're called 'cábalas' in Argentine slang). For example, we get together with friends to watch the games and if Argentina wins, we're very careful to be seated in exactly the same spot for the following game! Some people prefer not to look during key plays (for example, a penalty kick) and some others will not mention a player's or coach's name because 'they bring bad luck'... (they're called 'yeta')

Most people are allowed to watch the games at work in Argentina. They normally collect some money to buy a TV, which is then subject to a raffle at the end of the World Cup. This works very different in Brazil: they actually get the day off!