Football isn’t just a game in Argentina, it’s a way of life. A very spirited, wild, sometimes terrifying way of life. Buenos Aires is a city divided not by neighbourhood, but by team. With two of the most popular teams in South America calling Buenos Aires’ home, lines are fairly well drawn throughout the city. Alliances are passed down through the generations, and in Argentina you grow up either a River Plate or a Boca Juniors fan.
One of Tom’s bucket list items for our trip (or maybe life), was to see a Boca Juniors game. I was convinced to go along with him despite what was going to be a hefty price tag with the promise of a once in a lifetime experience. I don’t love watching football, but I do enjoy going to games where the crowd is passionate, and Tom assured me that would definitely be the case here.
We lucked out and our time in Buenos Aires lined up with a derby game (look at me, using sport terminology!). Our tickets were for a match against River Plate, and from what Tom told me it should be a pretty good game.
As a tourist, getting your hands on tickets without going through an agency is nearly impossible. We unsuccessfully contacted a friend from Buenos Aires to see if she had any connections. She told us that it’s even hard for a local non-member to get their hands on tickets, especially for the derby games.
The Boca Juniors Club has 60,000 season ticket holders, but there are only 49,000 seats in the stadium. So, members aren’t even guaranteed a ticket. Plus, to make it even more difficult as a traveller, the stadium has a member only policy. That’s a whole lot going against us. A Boca club member has to ‘rent’ their ticket to the tour agency, who then ‘rents’ it to the tourist.
Since the agency has an absolute monopoly on the tickets, the tickets end up costing about 50 times more than face value. Our tickets ended up being about 190 USD per person, and we booked them through our hostel, Millhouse Hostel Avenue. They have a full tour agency inside, so if you’re not staying there you can pop in or contact them and find out more info!
We were told that the scalpers were an option, but a fairly sketchy one. It’s pretty easy to make counterfeit tickets, and tourists are desperate for tickets and don’t know what to look for. So, if you are going to try to go the scalper route, our friend warned us to make sure the scalper goes up to the entrance with you, and to not pay for the ticket until after it’s been scanned and confirmed as legitimate.
The tour company picked our group up from the hostel, and we bussed into the La Boca neighbourhood. The bus dropped us off about a half hour walk from La Bombonera. The security set up in the area on game days is pretty intense. Four blocks surrounding the stadium are entirely locked down. Plus, you have to pass through a series of checkpoints before even reaching the stadium. We walked to the first checkpoint, where we only had to flash our tickets at security, and were let through the first checkpoint in a group, which they then shut down until the group is through the next checkpoint. Panama Canal style.
The next checkpoint our guide told us to flash our IDs and basically keep moving. Since it’s only supposed to be locals at the games, this is where things could of been questionable. Our guide spoke to the guards before we went through, and they barely glanced at our passports. Not quite sure if they would of been as nonchalant if we hadn’t been with our guide, however. I didn’t see money change hands, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some sort of arrangement.
The game itself was insane, and that’s coming from someone with very little interest in sports. I attend sports games for the atmosphere, food, and drinks. I like going to games where the fans are excited, regardless of the sport. Well, a La Boca game DEFINITELY checks the excited fans box.
I don’t care what anyone else says, in my entirely unprofessional opinion, football fans are the craziest of all sports fans. Every second person walking in had a Boca Juniors tattoo, and the way the parents coached their children to scream obscenities at River Plate and the refs cannot be matched by any other fans.
The Boca Juniors stadium is infamous for shaking when the Bocas score, since away fans aren’t permitted, there’s 49,000 people stomping and screaming for the Bocas. La Bombonera is divided up into sections, so there’s the more expensive seats, the cheaper seats, the cheaper benches where the more hardcore fans seem to be (this is the area that the tour agency mostly gets tickets in), and then the extreme fans, which to my delight, included a 100 piece brass band.
I was a bit confused when cops in body armour and shields took to the field and shielded a player on the opposite team for a corner kick, but it all made sense when the fans in the high-rise box seats started throwing FIRECRACKERS at the player below.
When the Boca Juniors tied it up 4 seconds before the second half ended, we experienced the shaking arena first hand. With the fans screaming and crying, the game went into extra time with the Boca Juniors pulling it off and winning the game! We were rooting for a Bocas win, and not only because we were in their arena. Boca Juniors’ fans have a bit of a history of getting a bit rowdy when they lose. Or when they win, really. That’s why alcohol isn’t sold in the arena. Team spirit, it runs thick in Buenos Aires.
Booze, belts, and bags. A small purse may be fine, but I didn’t want to risk having to leave it at the gate. So, I just brought my phone, my ID, and a bit of cash.
They make you take your belt off at the gate, I’m guessing you may be able to retrieve it after? It’s a stampede to get out of there, so I wouldn’t want to fight my way back to the front. Better off going belt-less for the night.
And, as always, leave behind any valuables. I’m sure you can get some great snaps if you bring your camera, but I wouldn’t want to risk it.
If you want to have a couple pre-game bevvies, you can bring a few on the bus with you. It took our bus close to an hour and a half to get to the drop off point once we made it through the crowds, so enough time to have a couple pre-game casuals! (Also enough time to make you need to pee, and not sure if I’d want to be poppin’ a squat in those crowds. Choose wisely).
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