Berkley Center

Before I arrived in Buenos Aires I expected to find sports-crazed fans similar to those back at home. Of course, the biggest difference between the fans in Argentina and the United States, I thought, was the sport they enjoyed. I settled in and soon made a list of the first division soccer teams based in Buenos Aires. Boca Juniors and River Plate are the traditional powerhouses, and although their support is unrivaled, it’s practically impossible to get tickets, and those two were quickly crossed off the list.

From the remaining teams, a Barcelona-esque color scheme and a really long team name won out, and I decided I would attend a Club Atletico San Lorenzo de Almagro fútbol match. Little did I know at the time that this decision, based primarily off the team Wikipedia page and location, would drastically alter my study abroad experience in Buenos Aires.

On the first game day, I took a bus for an hour to a southern part of the city. I was surrounded by red and blue, and arriving at the stadium I was engulfed in a wave of San Lorenzo. Little kids were in full-blown jumpsuits, and adults wore matching team gear like I had never seen before. For the brave, the cold meant nothing as they showed off their various San Lorenzo tattoos. Even in the United States I had been surrounded by green at Jets games and "Wear grey on game day" at the Verizon Center.

With San Lorenzo though, I was taken aback. Here was a team who barely survived relegation the season before and technically did not have a home stadium, yet it had incredible game day enthusiasm and fans that were singing as if they had just won a championship. Cars were packed, buses drove by with flags waving, fans cheering, and scalpers were trying to sell last minute tickets, and the game was still an hour away.

To be fair, I am a huge sports fan. I sat front row for Georgetown-Syracuse freshmen year, have sat in the supporters section of the US National Soccer team before and countless other sporting events. But this, a meddling soccer team with a troubled history and poor recent results? This was incredible. The team won the game against Colon de Santa Fe 2-1 and from then on I was in love.

As soon as I got home I went online and began to learn San Lorenzo songs. I searched as to why they had so many different nicknames, like Ciclon (Cyclone) and Cuervos (crows, which comes from the founding of the club by a priest, who are usually dressed in all black, the same color as crows), and I learned the history of the team as a whole. I learned that the reason nearly every song spoke about this mysterious Boedo was because Boedo was in fact the neighborhood San Lorenzo was originally based in, until the military dictatorship seized the grounds for practically nothing and San Lorenzo was homeless.

I fell in love with everything San Lorenzo, and it inexplicably shaped the next three months I spent in Argentina. As I walked around Buenos Aires I would keep an eye out for San Lorenzo jerseys, start conversations with people about soccer, and then show them that I had taken the time to learn about an important part of porteño living and had an explanation at the ready as to "Why San Lorenzo?"

I knew that the environment at a game in South America would be different, but never in a million years did I expect the game day experience to extend to everyday life, which is exactly what happened to me, the American. As I make my way to class everyday, I sing San Lorenzo songs. I’ve proudly got a supporters section flag hanging in my room and a brand new jersey waiting to be worn. I knew soccer would be a cool part of abroad, but it’s defined it for me.

The San Lorenzo people have been so optimistic, even when they had no home stadium, no coach, and no wins. Even when other fans would tell me I chose the wrong team, San Lorenzo kept on singing. This past week, the city legislature passed law allowing San Lorenzo to return to Boedo. Even though I’m going to be returning to the United States, after three months of being Cuervo, I feel like I’m going back to Boedo with them instead. Vamo’ Ciclon.