Although our dad is Italian by birth, he grew up in Argentina and was consumed by soccer - like just about every guy is in Buenos Aires. His team was River Plate, and so that was the team my brothers and me also liked.
We moved to Ohio when I was seven years old, so my fandom in River Plate was distant. However my dad continues watching Argentina's sports channel TyC to this day on DirecTV, rarely missing a Sunday recap or analysis show, whether he catches a game or not.
The first and only time I returned to Argentina was in August 2008. I was working for FC Dallas at the time and the team was looking to establish a relationship with the famed River Plate club. The Hunt Family, owners of the team whom I have tremendous respect for, asked me to join general manager Michael Hitchcock and VP / owner Dan Hunt to meet with River's president and management team.
We arrived a two days before River Plate's season opener - coming off their most recent Championship. The day before the game, we were given a full behind the scenes tour of El Monumental - the famous stadium that hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup, which Argentina won.
I was in awe, knowing I was looking at everything for my family. We were in the locker room as they prepared it for the game. We watched the team practice inside the stadium. They were coached by Diego Simeone at the time, and I grabbed a photo with him. We saw the tunnel that leads players from the locker room to the field, the meeting rooms, and the residence / hotel where the players stay 'concentrated' the day before games.
The execs took us to the team shop and gifted us jerseys - with our names and #10. We saw them working on the future team museum.
On game day, we were in a suite. However, this was not my scene - I wanted to check out the atmosphere outside. Management assigned a policeman to escort me out, which was odd for me.
The scene was as expected. Rosario Central fans are bused in to a fenced-in area so they can't interact with the River Plate fans. After a quick walk we returned upstairs.
I was fascinated by everything. For example, even in the suite they don't provide real silverware - only plastic. Banners are hung everywhere - with balloons filled with water (or pee, we're told) weighing down the banners to cut down on swaying.
The Rosario Central fans were incredible - but the River Plate were as much part of the show as the players. The upper deck section behind one goal was overflowing - people straddling the front rails. Just nuts. It was an amazing scene - the chants, the noise, everything. And River Plate won.
