¡Yo Soy Puebla F.C.!

Okay, okay, that title may be a little over the top...but it was everywhere yesterday. We went to our first Puebla Futbol Club game. Puebla played their rival, Chivas. Okay, not totally sure this is true, but Chivas is a massive futbol club in Mexico, they are from Guadalajara, and a national favorite.

We walked to El Centro and caught a cab the rest of the way to the stadium. We didn't have tickets because MisterTennis (a sports chain store here) is a big fat liar. Their website said, "You can buy futbol tickets at any location"...wrong-o. Neither of the stores we went to had any idea about selling tickets. Anyway, that didn't detour us...we asked the very friendly and chatty taxi driver if we could get tickets there, and he assured us we could. So we pulled up to the stadium to see tons of tents with people selling "authentic"jerseys, scarves, toys, toilet bowl brushes (just kidding...or am I?) in both Puebla and Chivas colors. There were stalls upon stalls of people cooking amazing and wonderful smelling food.

We figured out where to buy tickets, Andy procured them, and then we went in search of some "authentic" jerseys. After making our rounds, we settled on these:

Andy got the "away" jersey 

I went with the "home" colors

Every tent we went to, they tried to give me a Small...bless them. ;) 

After we were properly dressed for the event, we entered the stadium to find our seats. We got the tickets in the upper level because 1.) they were cheaper (read $10 each), 2.) we didn't know where to sit, 3.) you can see the whole field from there. They were awesome seats!

See?!

It should be noted that Puebla is at about 6,000 feet above sea level...so climbing to the seats really made me realize how high up we are...and just how out of shape I am. 

We settled in...got two beers, in one cup, for about $4.50

This obviously made me happy

As it got closer to kick off we see and hear the Ultimo Puebla Fans (not their actual names, maybe, who knows?) come in to take their seats. There was a band, seriously, horns, drums, etc...flags waving, chanting...pretty awesome. 

Didn't take video, but just close your eyes and imagine what this sounded like

I was pretty impressed. Then this happened...

Chivas fans come from somewhere, a bus, I don't know, and totally dominated the scene

They were super loud, had their own section in the stadium that was kept apart by a fence with barbed wire on top. They were all about it! (It should be noted that I did not take the two photos of the fans...again, compliments of the Google).

It was a great time! We had some chips with red chile and lemon...four beers between us...and watched Puebla lose 1-0. :( According to this morning's news, and Andy, this was Chivas' first road win in a year. Ouch! Admittedly, Puebla didn't play well at all...but hey, they're our team now, so we're gonna support them, win or lose! (There was talk about switching jersey's with the kid next to me at one point...he was supporting Chivas...but nope, we are sticking with our boys!) 

I also noticed that there were no real "chain" restaurants selling food in the stadium. It was all homemade Cemitas, chips in tupperware like containers, and candy and cigarettes. You read that right, they were selling candy and single cigarettes in the stadium...because, why not?! Also, I found out, in the line for the bathroom, I should always carry a roll of toilet paper in my purse, almost every other woman had one. I'll let you figure that one out for yourself. Remember, I warned you I was gonna keep it real. (It was only number one, so it wasn't as tragic as it sounds)...but learning new things every day. :) 

Overall, a wonderful day! We had a great time, figured out where to buy tickets, where we might want to sit next time (see, Puebla band and flag people), and are looking forward to the next game in a few weeks. We also found out where the baseball field is...right next door to the futbol stadium, and when the baseball season starts. Sometime in mid-March is opening day, so if you plan on coming to visit after then, chances are we will take you to see some baseball!